Murray v Rublev is last match on Rod Laver Arena
Friday 20 January 2017 09:51, UK
Andy Murray overcame a challenging opener at the Australian Open, but what do we know about the Russian awaiting him in round two?
Murray is hoping to reach the final in Melbourne for a sixth time in eight years and will be hoping to go one better having finished runner-up on his previous five appearances.
After being forced to work harder than he would have liked against Illya Marchenko in his opening match, this year's top seed will hope for a smoother passage into the third round of the 105th Australian Open.
To reach that stage for the ninth consecutive year will require victory against one of the game's bright young talents, Russia's Andrey Rublev, the world No 152, making his first appearance in the main draw of the event.
The 19-year-old, who only turned professional in 2014, tore up the form book in overcoming Yen-Hsun Lu in four sets, his maiden Grand Slam match win against a player ranked over 90 spaces above him.
Who is this young gun?
Born in Moscow, sporting prowess seemed inevitable: Rublev's father is a former professional boxer, his mother a tennis coach who has previously worked with Anna Kournikova and Daria Gavrilova, the 30th seed in the women's event.
“All my life she was teaching,” he has said of his mother. "Since I was born I had a racket.”
The right-hander is coached by Sergey Tarasevich, and has previously been invited to hit with one of his childhood heroes - Rafael Nadal - with whom he shares a love of forehands, which he cites as his favourite shot.
Alongside whippy groundstrokes, the teenager's agility and anticipation have attracted attention, as has his all-surface game. As the 2014 Junior French Open champion, the Russian's best results have come on clay, but he argues that he doesn't have a favourite surface.
Rublev's Roland Garros silverware is joined by two medals from the Youth Olympics, and a Kremlin Cup doubles' award - won with Dmitry Tursunov in 2015 - and, metaphorically, the notable scalps of seasoned ATP contenders Fernando Verdasco and Pablo Andujar.
The teenager, who spends his time off court boxing or playing basketball, made an impression on Murray when the Scot caught him in action a few years ago.
"I know a little bit about him. I've never hit with him or played against him but I've seen him play before and he goes for it. He doesn't hold back. He hits a big ball," the world No 1 said.
Big enough to derail the top seed in Melbourne? Only Wednesday's tie will tell.
