Teenage prodigy Dino Prizmic secured his spot in the Australian Open main draw on Friday and has been rewarded with a first-round dream match against his "idol" Novak Djokovic.
The world No 1 was made to wait to discover who his first-round opponent would be as he was drawn to face either a qualifier or lucky loser.
Australian Open qualifying had yet to be finalised, but it came to an end on Friday with Prizmic being given the biggest match of his young career.
The Next Gen ATP star rose to prominence last year when he won the Roland Garros boys' singles tournament.
Novak Djokovic faces Dino Prizmic in the first round
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Prizmic dropped just a single set across six matches to win the title and he received a shoutout from Djokovic himself on social media after the victory.
The Serbian tennis icon posted on his Instagram story, writing ‘Cestitke Dino’, which translates to, ‘Congratulations Dino’.
The small gesture from Djokovic proved to be monumental for the teenage prodigy, who admitted the 24-time Grand Slam winner was his "idol".
“My reaction was like, 'I can't believe it!' because Novak shared this post on Instagram story,” Prizmic said last year.
“It's a big thing for me of course because he is my idol and I'm very happy about that.”
Prizmic idolises Djokovic so much so that he's even taken to the Serbian's all-natural diet.
“I started that when I was 15 because I saw Novak and other players don't eat sweet things and I just wanted to also do that,” Prizmic said.
“On court, I feel very good, not tired. Big difference on energy levels on court.
Novak Djokovic is the king of the Australian Open
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“I also want to eat right for myself.
“Beef, eggs, vegetables every day are so important for me.
“Every time I see [sweets], I don't want to look there! It's tough but I know it's for my tennis, because tennis is my life. I need to do that.”
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Dino Prizmic has idolised Novak Djokovic growing up
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The 18-year-old made the step up from playing on the Challenger Tour midway through last season after his triumph at Roland Garros.
And he pulled off the biggest win of his young career when he defeated Jiri Lehecka at the 2023 Stockholm Open, which helped propel him up the men's rankings.
Now his qualifying run at his first major has rewarded him with a match against Australian Open king Djokovic.
The match will be a part of Australian Open history as it will be played on Sunday - the first time the tournament has begun at the weekend.
