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Fit-again Thanasi Kokkinakis and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will meet in a highly anticipated second-round clash at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Fan favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis has called on supporters to "get loose" and inject some life into the sterile Australian Open grandstands when he takes on Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The renowned party atmosphere at the so-called 'happy slam' has been largely absent this year as a result of coronavirus restrictions and a 50 per cent cap on crowds at Melbourne Park.
But Thursday's second-round clash between Kokkinakis and fifth-seeded Tsitsipas has all the right ingredients to add some much-needed flavour to the mix.
Tsitsipas, a two-time grand slam semi-finalist, draws huge support from the strong local Greek population and even had a souvlaki named after him by a Melbourne restaurant two years ago.
"It's going to be exciting," said Kokkinakis, the Adelaide-born son of Greek immigrants.
"He's a phenomenal player, one of the favourites for this tournament, and it's just going to be fun.
"We've practised (together) a few years ago and I know his family, I've had some meals in Nice or Monaco with his family. Both being Greek, we get along.
"I can't wait to get out there. I'm hoping there's a decent crowd and they can get rowdy.
"We'll have some Greek fans, have some Aussie fans and hopefully it's pretty loose."
Cypriot cult hero Macros Baghdatis and Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic have revelled in passionate support from their communities at the Open in recent years.
But Greek fans have arguably been the slam's most fervent.
Unfortunately for Kokkinakis, he hasn't been able to enjoy their backing - or that of green-and-gold clad supporters - as frequently as Tsitsipas because of a horror run with injuries.
The 24-year-old burst onto the Australian Open scene as a teenager with first-round wins in 2014 and 2015, reached a career-high ranking of 69 and boasts Roger Federer amongst a host of top-20 scalps.
But he was floored by glandular fever this time last year and endured a six-year wait for a third victory at his home grand slam.
The straight-sets win over South Korea's Soonwoo Kwon on Tuesday put an emotional Kokkinakis firmly back on the map and fuelled his desire to feed off the fans' energy.
While injury woes have driven Kokkinakis to the brink in recent years, Tsitsipas has emerged as a leader of the new wave of talent in world tennis.
The 22-year-old reached the last four at Melbourne Park in 2019 and was a semi-finalist at the French Open last year.
"For the crowd to get behind you, you actually have to play, and he's done that," Kokkinakis said of Greece's highest-ever ranked player.
"That's probably my next step.
"He's been able to stay healthy the last few years.
"I saw him when he was (ranked) around 60-70 in the world and knew he was going to be a great player then."