World quantity 43 Alexei Popyrin believes he can “do some harm” when he performs Novak Djokovic within the Australian Open second spherical on Wednesday.
Ten-time champion Djokovic faces the Australian, 24, within the final match of the evening session on Rod Laver Enviornment.
Earlier than that, defending girls’s champion Aryna Sabalenka performs teenage qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova.
Requested concerning the difficulties of going through high seed Djokovic, Popyrin stated: “I do not suppose he is received any weaknesses.”
He added: “He’s the best of all time in our sport, so to get there you need to don’t have any weaknesses.
“However I’ve massive weapons in my sport that I imagine can do some harm.”
Serb Djokovic, 36, was made to work onerous for his first-round victory over Croatian 18-year-old Dino Prizmic on Sunday, praising {the teenager} by saying it was like “taking part in myself within the mirror”.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face a unique problem in his second-round match towards Popyrin, who might be closely backed by a house crowd.
It will likely be the pair’s second assembly after Djokovic beat Popyrin in straight units in Tokyo in 2019.
Because the singles second spherical will get below method, a second teenager stands in the best way of Sabalenka, 25, after she thrashed 18-year-old German qualifier Ella Seidel within the first spherical.
The Belarusian’s opponent, Czech 16-year-old Fruhvirtova who’s ranked 107th on the planet, is taking part in her first Grand Slam second-round match.
One other 16-year-old options on Rod Laver Enviornment as Russian Mirra Andreeva performs sixth seed Ons Jabeur, a match which might be adopted by dwelling hope Alex De Minaur, the tenth seed, trying to overcome Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, Ben Shelton and Caroline Wozniacki are additionally in singles motion on Wednesday, whereas Joe Salisbury, Neal Skupski and Heather Watson are amongst six Britons taking part in within the males’s and girls’s doubles competitions.