Bouchard has been handed a daunting draw in Melbourne as she takes on the 23-time Grand Slam winner in just the second round.
The Canadian has slipped down the world rankings to No 79 since her Wimbledon final appearance in 2014.
And Bouchard has little chance of improving her position unless she can pull off a huge upset against Williams this morning.
“I think she’s, you know, the greatest ever,” Bouchard said ahead of their showdown.
“So it’s just so cool that I’ll be able to share the court with her and an opportunity to see how I compare to one of the best players.
“Her ranking is top 20 right now, but to me she’s always basically No 1.
“I mean, I admire obviously the longevity of her career, her dominance over such a long amount of time, how she’s come back so many times from injury, pregnancy, et cetera.
“I don’t want to talk about it too much and put her on too much of a pedestal because I have to play her in two days, but I love her.”
The pair are first night match on Rod Laver Arena on day four.
And Bouchard has no problem with adjusting her body clock for the tie.
“Well, as a person, I’m definitely a night owl,” she added.
“I love to sleep in and stay up late. But in tennis, I mean, we can’t really control and we’re scheduled at all times of the day.
“I try to not, you know, care or like one thing too much.
“Of course, there is always something special about a night match, and it has that extra kind of excitement.
“But tennis is so unique compared to other sports where you have to be ready to play at literally any time of the day, so I try to stay focused on that.”