Frances Tiafoe psyched up to play Alex de Minaur in Australian Open third round

It says a lot about the presence of youth in professional tennis that two players in their mid to late-20s can already be considered veterans on the tour.

But that is how Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe described each other ahead of Friday's enticing third-round clash at the Australian Open.

De Minaur, the world number six, overcame a shaky start and rain delay on Rod Laver Arena to defeat Serbian Hamad Medjedovic 6-7, (5-7), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday evening.

While de Minaur was wrapping up victory, 29th seed Tiafoe was putting the finishing touches to his 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat of Argentina's Francisco Comesaña on Margaret Court Arena.

De Minaur, who at 26 is one year younger than Tiafoe, holds a 3-1 advantage over the American in their career head-to-head meetings.

The last time they faced each other, the Australian enjoyed a three-set victory in a round-of-16 match at the Toronto Masters 1000 event in August.

Tiafoe, who reached a career-high ranking of 10 in 2023, has enormous respect for de Minaur, noting they are both among the most experienced players in the men's draw at Melbourne Park.

"I've known him [de Minaur] for a while, known him for a long time," Tiafoe told reporters.

"Him and me, we've played since we came on the scene. Got in the top 100, kind of around the same time.

"I've seen him around for years, and now we're the older guys on the tour, and now we're playing big matches against each other."

Speaking just prior to Tiafoe clinching his win over Comesaña, de Minaur was full of praise for the world number 34.

"Frances, he's super dangerous. He's playing well, got a lot of firepower," de Minaur said.

"He's a veteran. We've had some battles in the past. I wouldn't expect anything other than an absolute battle against him.

"He seems to be locked in."

'I'm going to come for him'

Tiafoe will be a tricky opponent for de Minaur, who made the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park last year.

Nicknamed "Big Foe", the US Davis Cup player has appeared in the second week of a major on several occasions, so he is accustomed to playing on the big stage.

Tiafoe reached the quarterfinals at the Australian and French Opens — in 2019 and 2025 respectively — while he has twice got as far as the semis (2022 and 2024) at his home major.

"It's earlier for both of us than we would like, but I'm happy to play against him," Tiafoe said.

"It's going to be fun, against all these fans. I love playing on the big courts, and now is where the event really gets going."

Tiafoe appears quietly confident of his chances on Friday, with the match expected to be scheduled for the blockbuster evening session on Rod Laver Arena.

And while Tiafoe stopped short of making a prediction about the result, he was sure it would be a must-watch encounter.

"He's going to come for me, I'm going to come for him," Tiafoe said.

"Tennis fans are going to get their money's worth."

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