Of the countless selfie requests Rafael Nadal will receive, whether here at the Australian Open or wherever he goes in the world, one might just come from Rodrigo Pacheco as the Mexican looks for a fresh photograph with his idol.

Pacheco already has one picture with Nadal, taken some years ago at Abierto Mexicano de Tenis in Acapulco before he had even hit his teenage years and when thoughts of competing at a Grand Slam were distant at best.

Much has happened since that photo was taken and earlier today Pacheco, who is making his Junior Grand Slam debut in Melbourne, reached the third round at the Australian Open Junior Championships.

The 16-year-old defeated Canada’s Jaden Weekes 7-5 6-2, setting up a showdown with Czech Republic’s Jakub Nicod, with No. 9 seed Pacheco now just a win away from the quarter-finals. Surely that is worthy of a photograph with your boyhood hero?

“I am so happy to be at the same tournament as Rafa,” Pacheco told itftennis.com. “I have seen him a few times and when I have seen him, I have been feeling so good about myself because he is my favourite tennis player since I was a kid. He is my motivation.

“I already have a photograph with him, taken when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was a long time ago. I hope to take another picture with him or even hit with him. That is one of my dreams.”

Should Pacheco progress to the quarter-finals, he would become only the third Mexican to do so at the Australian Open Junior Championships and the first to reach the last eight at a Junior Grand Slam since Cesar Ramirez at the Junior Championships, Wimbledon in 2008.

“If I could do this, I would be so proud and proud of all my team as without them I could not do this,” said Pacheco, who claimed five ITF World Tennis Tour junior titles in 2021, including a career-best crown at J1 Guadalajara in November.

“But, for me, it is another match tomorrow. I will do everything I can so I will be able to play my best tennis, and I know I can play quarter-finals and beyond. I just need to be focused on each game and each match.”

To boost his progression and development, Pacheco is one of 44 players, both professional and junior, to be awarded financial assistance through an ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Development Programme Grant in 2022.

The Player Grants are funded by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme, which was originally established in 1986 to encourage and increase competitive opportunities in developing tennis regions.

With annual contributions from the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Fund assists players directly, through touring teams or travel grants – now known as Grand Slam Player Development Programme Grants, to gain international competitive experience.

Pacheco will receive $25,000 as a contribution towards competition-related costs this season, with the overriding aim being his tennis development and ability to compete at Grand Slam tournaments.

The left-hander also received an ITF International Junior Player Grant of $12,500 in 2021 which reflects just how much he falls into the category of rising star. Such status is a far cry from his childhood when at one stage it looked as though the football pitch may be his arena of choice.

“When I was young, my favourite sport was football and I just went to tennis practice because my father is in love with tennis,” added Pacheco, who is No. 16 in the junior world rankings.

“For me, tennis was okay, but one day I was taken to a tournament. I was seven years old and I achieved quarter-finals playing against a 10-year-old player.

“He beat me so easily, but I was so happy to be in the quarter-finals and I never had a feeling like this in football. That feeling was so good that I chose tennis. I like the individual game – it’s all on me – and after this tournament it was tennis.”

Elsewhere in the boys’ draw, top seed Bruno Kuzuhara overcame a troublesome opening set to dispatch Australian wild card Edward Winter 7-5 6-1, with Argentina’s Lautaro Midon his next opponent.

Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who is the No. 3 seed here, also advanced, defeating Woobin Shin of Korea, Republic, with Croatia’s Dino Prizmic lying in wait in round three.

Two Junior Grand Slam doubles champions will compete for a quarter-final place after Edas Butvilas of Lithuania and Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong safely negotiated their second-round ties.

Butvilas topped the doubles podium at Wimbledon last year alongside Spain’s Alejandro Manzanera Pertusa, while Wong did likewise at the US Open with France’s Max Westphal his partner.

In the girls’ draw, meanwhile, top seed Petra Marcinko swept past Canada’s Kayla Cross to take her place in round three, where she will face Bulgaria’s Denislava Glushkova.

No. 2 Diana Shnaider, the third Junior Grand Slam doubles champion on show in this year’s singles draws, will also take her place in round three following her defeat of Australian wildcard Taylah Preston.

The 17-year-old will take on Qavia Lopez of the United States, who accounted for Canada’s Victoria Mboko in round two, while No. 8 seed Sofia Costoulas of Belgium overpowered Iran’s Meshkatolzahra Safi 6-0 6-2.

Despite today’s loss, Safi has made significant strides in Melbourne and grabbed the headlines on Sunday after becoming the first junior player – boy or girl – from Iran to record a Junior Grand Slam match-win.

Costoulas will now do battle with Switzerland’s Celine Naef for a quarter-final berth, while there were also wins for Serbia’s Lola Radivojevic and Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi. Radivojevic and Okutoyi meet in round three.