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Australian teenager Alexei Popyrin is into the third round of the Australian Open after seventh seed Dominic Thiem retired while trailing two sets to love.

Move over Alex de Minaur, Australian tennis has a new teenage tennis sensation in town.

Alexei Popyrin became the country's second 19-year-old in the Australian Open third round after shocking seventh seed Dominic Thiem.

The Austrian retired ill midway through the third set of their Melbourne Arena encounter but Popyrin was already well on track to record the biggest win of his very short career, up 7-5 6-4 2-0.

Popyrin will next face French 28th seed Lucas Pouille, who overcame German Maximilian Marterer in four sets.

Popyrin had only played one grand slam match before this tournament but his performance vindicated Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt's decision to give him a wildcard.

Winner of the French Open boys' title in 2017, Popyrin looked fearless despite his inexperience.

Using his big forehand, the world No.149 hit almost double the winners of Thiem.

Popyrin said he relished playing on the big stage of Melbourne Park.

"I didn't really feel much pressure, to be honest," he said.

"I just wanted to go out there and enjoy the moment, just soak in the experience really.

"I really enjoy playing on these big, big stadiums with massive crowds."

Popyrin said even before Thiem's withdrawal he felt in control after wrapping up the second set.

He said he knew midway through the first set that Thiem was off as his serve was below its usual pace and power.

"I saw that something was really wrong and I needed to take advantage of that," Popyrin said.

"I always thought that I was in the match to be honest but when I won the second set is when that thought really kicked in and that I could actually win the match."

Thiem, a French Open finalist last year, called for the trainer midway through the second set citing general fatigue which looked a result of his five-set opening round win.

He said post-match he felt worse as the match wore on, with Popyrin's dominance not helping.

Thiem's frustration was evident late in the first set when he smashed his racquet after failing to break the youngster.

Popyrin is one of just four players who have yet to drop their serve at the Open, which he said had been a focus for improvement over the past year.

Born in Sydney to Russian parents, he's now based at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice, France, where he's spent time hitting with Serena Williams, who is coached by Patrick Mouratoglou.