Top seed and former champion Bernard Tomic will play compatriot Jordan Thompson in his opening second-round match of the 2016 Apia Sydney International. This will be the first time that the Aussies will clash on professional tour.

Tomic opened his season at the 2016 Brisbane International. The 23-year-old upset eighth seed Japanese Kei Nishikori in three sets to reach the final four, his seventh victory over a player ranked within the top 10, but he lost in the semifinals against eventual champion Milos Raonic 7-6(7) 7-6(7).

Tomic, who is now ranked in his career-high World No. 17, is looking to further boost his ranking as well as his chances for a top 16 seeding in the first grand slam tournament at the Australian Open in Sydney. As the top seed, Tomic received a bye into the second round where he will meet Australian wild card Thompson, who previously beat Martin Klizan 6-2 4-0 in his opening round match. Klizan was forced to reture due to injury.

This will mark the first time that Tomic and Thompson will play against each other on tour. Tomic is reportedly looking sharp ahead of his opening second-round match, as seen in a video shared on the tournament’s official website.

Meanwhile, Thompson, ranked 149th, has had considerable success in ITF and ATP Challenger events. He played 19 Challenger events and six TF events last season. Thompson recently competed at the Challenger BNP Paribas in New Caledonia where he reached the semifinals, losing to Alejandro Falla in straight sets 6-1 6-4.

A potential quarterfinals clash against Australian Sam Groth looms for the winner of the match. The 2015 Serbian champion, Viktor Troicki, looms as a potential semifinal opponent for Tomic or Thompson. Tomic was the champion in 2013 (defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-7(7) 6-3 and was a runner-up in 2014 (lost to Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 6-1).

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