No. 9 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will face French sensation Arthur Cazaux in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open.

This will be the first meeting between Arthur Cazaux and Hubert Hurkacz, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.

From winning his third Challenger title at the 2024 Open Nouvelle-Calédonie in New Caledonia to the second week of the Australian Open - it's been a remarkable fortnight for the young Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.

Arthur Cazaux defeated fellow compatriot Jules Marie 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round before another victory in three sets over Patrick Kypson of the United States in the second round. He went on to beat three more French players (all in straight sets) en route to the title, including veteran Benoit Paire as well as Harold Mayot and Enzo Couacaud (in the final). 

Ranked No. 122 on the eve of the season's opening Grand Slam, the 21-year-old Cazaux received a wildcard to compete at his first Australian Open and so far so good, he's winning against the odds. As a result of his breakthrough, the Frenchman moved close to 40 positions up and reached the Top 85 in the ATP live rankings.

Arthur Cazaux inspired his Australian Open fairytale with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Laslo Djere of Serbia in the first round. It has been followed by the biggest win of his career when Cazaux eliminated 8^th-seed Holger Rune of Denmark in four sets (7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3) and the most convincing victory over No. 28 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands. 

Cazaux's third-round success over Griekspoor was wrapped up in less than two hours (one hour and 49 minutes), with the Frenchman dropping just seven games throughout the match, also adding 14 aces and 33 winners and making only 14 unforced errors. An extremely impressive performance, to be fair! 

Having already reached his maiden Major semifinal at the Wimbledon Championships in 2021, Hubert Hurkacz is bidding to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time. 

Hurkacz geared up for the Australian Open when he led Team Poland at the United Cup. The Pole guided his country all the way to the final where he lost 7-6, 6-7, 4-6 to Alexander Zverev of Germany. Moreover, Hurkacz and his mixed doubles partner Iga Swiatek also failed to beat the Germans as they lost in three sets to Zverev and Laura Siegemund.

Hubert Hurkacz of Poland already reached the Australian Open fourth round one year ago and he looks ready to take the next step in 2024. 

After a relatively smooth first round win over Australian qualifier Omar Jasika, the No. 9 seed was dragged into a second-round five-setter against Czech qualifier Jakub Mensik in the second round. He eventually won 6-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 but the performance was far from ideal and Hurkacz must do much better if he's to avoid another Grand Slam setback. 

Hurkacz ended another Frenchman's Australian Open hopes as he came from a set down to claim a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Ugo Humbert in two hours and minutes at the John Cain Arena in the third round. Thus, the Pole extended his winning streak against Humbert - winning all of their three meetings. 

Ever since he arrived at Melbourne Park, the young Frenchman is playing his best tennis but the lack of big game experience could turn out to be decisive at any moment. 

The big-serving Pole is going to meet his match in the Australian Open last-16 as the Frenchman is equally impressive on serve. With 60 aces in three matches, Hurkacz boasts the second best record in the tournament so far (after Karen Khachanov, who already played his fourth match, though), while Cazaux is ranked 14^th with 43 aces. 

Given his experience and ranking, Hubert Hurkacz is the favorite but he's known to crumble under pressure. However, we believe that the pressure could also be too much for the young Frenchman.