Nishesh Basavareddy has claimed he modeled his playing style off of Novak Djokovic , as the teenager prepares to face the Serbian in the Australian Open.

The 19-year-old will appear at his first major tournament at the weekend, and his introduction to the top flight of the sport couldn’t be any more intimidating. Djokovic will compete at his 20th Australian Open against the teenager, and Basavareddy is relishing the chance to take on his icon.

Speaking on the Changeover podcast, the Indian-American has claimed Djokovic has been his favorite tennis player for years, and taught him a lot as a youngster. He said: “Yeah, when I was younger I used to try to like copy his serve and stuff. Maybe when I was younger serve wasn’t as good so that wasn’t the best thing.

“But yeah he’s (Novak Djokovic) been my favorite player since I was growing up, so.”

Basavareddy also complimented the Serbian’s defensive talents, as he continued to praise the sporting icon before facing him on the big stage. He added: “And also when I was younger I didn’t think I was going to be the biggest guy. I ended up growing a little more than I thought I would be.

“I was never going to be the guy that’s going to overpower someone or serve big. So I think learning from a guy like him who uses all parts of the court as an all-around player; uses the pace of the other guy to redirect, those have all been things that I’ve worked on since I was young. So I think it just developed overtime.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic has spoken out regarding the retirement rumors circulating, as the tennis icon enters his 22nd year in the sport. Speaking to GQ, the 37-year-old believes that he will hang up his racket when he feels his form takes a dip.

Djokovic said: “I am thinking about how I want to end it and when do I want to end it. No, I’m going to take that back. I do think about more how than when. When I’m not thinking about it as of yet so intensely.

“How—How I would like to end it? I feel if I start to lose more and feel like there is a bigger gap, that I start to have more challenges in overcoming those big obstacles in big Slams, then I’ll probably call it a day. But right now I’m still okay, keep continuing.”