Miomir Kecmanovic was not expected to make it past the first round of the Australian Open.

Now the 22-year-old, initially scheduled to play fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic in the first round of the tournament, will be returning home with at least $237,000 in prize money.

Kecmanovic, ranked No. 77 in the world, avoided Djokovic after his deportation from Australia and instead competed against “lucky loser” Salvatore Caruso instead, rolling to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 win over the Italian.

The young tennis player followed that performance with upsets over American Tommy Paul and world No. 25 Lorenzo Sonego in the second and third rounds, respectively. Prior to the 2022 Australian Open, Kecmanovic had never advanced past the first round of a Grand Slam.

“A week ago I was supposed to play the world No. 1 and didn’t have much of a chance there,” Kecmanovic said. “But now I’m in the last 16, so I’m happy that I was able to use this chance and that I’ve been playing some really good tennis. I didn’t have much pressure just because I felt that I got a second chance. So I just wanted to use it the best that I can.”

Djokovic was deported from Australia on Monday after a prolonged clash over his COVID-19 vaccination status. The ensuing legal battle with the the Australian court system revealed Djokovic had filed immigration paperwork with inaccurate information and did not isolate after testing positive for COVID-19.

The 20-time grand slam winner is now considering suing the Australian government for $4.4 million, a sum that would include the $2.75 million he was favored to win at the Australian Open.

If Djokovic had been allowed to compete and had defeated his fellow countryman as he would have been heavily favored to do, Kecmanovic would have left Melbourne earning only $74,000 in comparison to the quarter-million he is now guaranteed.

Kecmanovic has been a staunch supporter of the tennis’ biggest vaccine skeptic, dedicating his first-round triumph to Djokovic.

“It was hard not to talk about that topic since it was happening right before our matches, especially with me supposed to play him also,” he said at his post-match press conference following his win over Caruso. “We said we were going to give everything we have, try to avenge him in a way and make him proud.”

Kecmanovic will have the opportunity to continue his dream run on Saturday when he takes on Frenchman Gaël Monfils, who is currently ranked No. 17 in the world.