5 unknown facts about Jaime Faria, the rising Portuguese star looking to shutdown Novak Djokovic in Australian Open R2

21-year-old Jaime Faria from Portugal is one of the few players making their Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open 2025. He came through the qualifying rounds with wins over Gijs Brouwer, Dane Sweeny, and Mark Lajal to book his place in the main draw.

Faria then defeated Pavel Kotov 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 in the first round to make a winning debut at the Majors. His reward for doing the same is a second-round date with 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic, who has won 10 of his 24 Major titles at the Australian Open.

Djokovic faced another rising young star, Nishesh Basavareddy, in the first round here, and overcame a slow start to beat him 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The last time he lost in the second round in Melbourne was back in 2017 when Denis Istomin stunned him in a five-set thriller.

As Faria aims to take down Djokovic on his own turf, here are some relatively unknown facts about the next big star from Portugal:

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#5 - Jaime Faria had his artwork showcased in a museum

Faria's father, Nuno, is a museum curator and an art professor. Along with his younger brother, the two spent a lot of time hanging out in museums and admiring the art, and gaining knowledge about the same from their father.

When a family friend of theirs took charge of an art exhibition, he decided to put the art made by the Faria siblings as well. While the boys didn't think that they had the necessary artistic flair to make it far, their father thought otherwise and submitted their paintings to be featured.

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#4 - Jaime Faria lives and trains together with his compatriot Henrique Rocha

Henrique Rocha at the Estoril Open 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Faria isn't the only player from Portugal making waves these days. His younger compatriot, 20-year-old Rocha, is also another player to look out for from the country. The two share a close bond, and they currently live together and work with the same coaches.

Rocha won his maiden singles title on the Challenger circuit in March 2024, and Faria did the same a couple of months later. The latter won his second title in October, while the former is still on the hunt for his next title.

The two have teamed up and tasted success as a pair in doubles as well. They have won two titles on the Challenger circuit, both in 2024 and were finalists on another two occasions. While Faria is close to cracking the top 100 of the ATP rankings in singles, Rocha has peaked at No. 158 in the rankings so far.

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#3 - Jaime Faria took part in the Portuguese Davis Cup team's initiation tradition

The Portuguese Davis Cup team has a ritual for rookies who are looking to become pros. During training week, novices are required to rock a haircut chosen by their teammates, and for Faria, it was certainly an eye-popping haircut.

"A new look for rookie Jaime Faria," - the official Davis Cup account on Instagram.

The haircut is supposed to be completely shaved off if the player gets an opportunity to compete. Faria contested a Davis Cup tie against Norway in September 2024 and bid goodbye to his stylish haircut.

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#2 - Jaime Faria was also interested in football during his younger days

Jaime Faria at the Estoril Open 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Before he was bitten by the tennis bug, Faria was also into football as a kid. It's not that surprising to know that as almost every child in Portugal grew up watching Cristiano Ronaldo's exploits, so a love for football is to be expected.

However, tennis fever took over for Faria when he saw some of the legends of the sport, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, and Marcelo Rios, going toe-to-toe at an exhibition event in his country. Seeing them play inspired him to commit to tennis full-time, and he started training with his country's tennis federation at the age of 16 years.

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#1 - Jaime Faria cites Novak Djokovic as the "GOAT"

Faria is now preparing for the biggest match of his life. Before that, he gave his thoughts on his upcoming showdown with Djokovic. Speaking to the media, the 21-year-old referred to the 24-time Major champion as the greatest of all time, and naturally expects it to be a tough battle.

"I expect a tough match, of course. Playing against the Greatest of all Time (G.O.A.T) will be a unique experience. In the best conditions for him. It will be 'fun'. I have to enjoy it but also go in with a cool head, knowing that I have my chances and I will give my best. Now I have to work, recover and then prepare the match to see what I have to do,” Faria said [translated from Portuguese].

Faria will now aim to emulate his compatriot, Joao Sousa, who was the last man from Portugal to reach the third round of the Australian Open when he achieved the feat in 2019.