Teen star Emerson Jones hopes aggression and courage can give her the platform from which to cause a massive Australian Open upset when she faces sixth seed Elena Rybakina on her grand slam debut.
Jones, who tops the junior girls' world rankings, is the hottest young prospect in Australian women's tennis and has already drawn comparisons with compatriot and three-time major champion Ash Barty.
The Gold Coast 16-year-old gained plenty of admirers at the Adelaide International this month, toppling China's world No.37 Wang Xinyu and pushing No.9 Daria Kasatkina all the way in a narrow defeat.
But former Wimbledon winner and 2023 Open runner-up Rybakina - who Barty has tipped to be crowned champion at Melbourne Park for the first time - presents the biggest challenge of Jones' short career so far.
"I'm really excited to play against her because I've watched her for years on TV," Jones said.
"It's just (a great) experience for me, especially at a young age, to play against someone like that.
"I'm an aggressive player and I feel like I'm pretty brave on court, I just go for my shots and I try to have my best attitude every single time I step on the court."
Jones' impressive form in Adelaide led French Open semi-finalist and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kasatkina to describe the young gun as a "scary" prospect.
"Getting to see that level was really good because I haven't really gotten to see that level yet," Jones said.
"Knowing that I can compete with these girls and these women is pretty exciting for me."
Jones' Spanish coach Carlos Cuadrado insists his young charge still has plenty to learn as she takes her first steps into the sport's elite arena.
But he also believes Jones is on the right track, as evidenced by her performances in Adelaide.
"It made me realise she can beat anybody, which was a great thing to see," Cuadrado said.
"I also realised that her level lifts when she plays against better players, which is a very good skill to have, because the opponent will push her and give her the level.
"In training we create our structure, our way to play, our strategies, but at the end of the day playing against these great players will push her up."
Rybakina admits she knows little about Jones, having only caught glimpses of the teenager's match against Kasatkina.
"She's a good player, dangerous player. Especially when you're young, you have nothing to lose," Rybakina said.
"She's at home (in Australia). I definitely take it as a very tough opponent because you never know what to expect.
"I don't know her, so yeah, I'm just going to focus on myself and try to do as good as possible."
