It’s not every day that Carlos Alcaraz faces an opponent younger than him. In fact, the scenario has never happened with the 20-year-old at any level of professional tennis. Until now.

Enter Shang Juncheng (“Jerry”), a gifted left-hander who at 18, has made his mark in Melbourne the past two years and will take on the two-time major winner come Saturday.

In 2023, Shang became the first Chinese man to win a main-draw match at the Australian Open in the Open Era (later joined by countrymen Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing in the second round). On Wednesday, he advanced to the third round of a major for the first time when he defeated qualifier Sumit Nagal, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

We spent a day with the rising talent at the IMG Academy last year to learn more about his story and why those around the bubbly teen are convinced results like this week’s Down Under are just the tip of the iceberg.