Rubin, 20, made the headlines two years ago when he won the Boy’s Junior title at Wimbledon, and he set up what is undoubtedly the biggest match of his career with an epic 6-7 (4), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Bjorn Fratangelo.
Federer, 35, winner of 17 grand slam titles, dropped a set against Jurgen Meltzer on his return from a knee operation.
The Swiss star has slipped to 17 in the world rankings but he will start as strong favourite against Rubin, who upset 17th seed Benoit Paire as a wild-card entry in Melbourne last year.
Asked what he knew about his American opponent, who is ranked 197, Federer responded “almost nothing”. But he is leaving nothing to chance and watched some of Rubin’s first-round victory.
“I know he’s a baseliner. He makes a lot of shots. I guess it’s not a bad thing for me. I know it’s probably more on my racket rather than playing a big server. Regardless, you know, got to manage any kind of player in this draw to move forward.”
