Another day of searing heat is likely to push players to the limit at the Australian Open with Nick Kyrgios set to headline day-five proceedings on Rod Laver Arena.

The mercury is forecast to reach 42C at Melbourne Park on Friday, raising the prospect of some matches being halted and other marquee showdowns being played indoors.

Kyrgios, Australia’s last remaining male contender, should benefit from a late-afternoon cool change ahead of his evening match against childhood idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

After cruising through his opening matches on Hisense Arena, the 22-year-old returns to centre court at the same age as when Tsonga made the men’s final in 2008.

The Frenchman has shown that he remains a genuine force, coming back from the brink of defeat to see off Canadian prodigy Denis Shapovalov in the second round.

Should Kyrgios win through to the fourth round, he will face either third seed Grigor Dimitrov or Russian powerhouse Andrey Rublev.

A reigning semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, Dimitrov will be out for revenge after losing to Rublev in straight sets at last year’s US Open.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal will take on Bosnian 28th seed Damir Dzumhur on Margaret Court Arena while Marin Cilic faces unseeded American Ryan Harrison.

In the women’s field, title favourite Elina Svitolina is set for an all-Ukrainian showdown with teenage sensation Marta Kostyuk.

The 15-year-old qualifier could prove spoiler for Svitolina, who is the last seeded player in her quarter of the draw.

Last year’s French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko meanwhile faces a Baltic battle with Estonian dark horse Anett Kontaveit.

Along with Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova, Latvian youngster Ostapenko is one of only three grand slam winners left in the women’s field after a streak of opening-week upsets.

Frenchman Gael Monfils, who was close to collapsing in the 39C heat during his loss to Novak Djokovic, described Thursday’s conditions as the toughest he had faced.

“Good luck to them,” he said of the players scheduled to take the court on Friday.

“I’m telling you, I was dying on the court for 40 minutes.”

The decision to invoke the tournament’s extreme heat policy is made when the ambient temperature surpasses 40C and a wet-bulb reading of more than 32.5C is recorded.

When both these boxes are ticked, matches on outside courts are halted and roofs closed on all three indoor-capable venues.