Nick Kyrgios has long been considered a possible future Wimbledon champion. And the future, he believes, may be now.
"I feel this Wimbledon like I'm used to my surroundings a lot more, probably expecting a lot more out of myself," Kyrgios said. "To me, I do believe I can do good things in this tournament, go far, potentially win it. "
Naturally, the taking-it-one-match-at-a-time qualification came next, but not without good reason. Having negotiated a tricky first round against Czech veteran Radek Stepanek before winning in four sets, Kyrgios on Wednesday faces another friend and well-performed grasscourter, flamboyant German Dustin Brown.
"I think he just waits for this time of the year.," Kyrgios said of the 85th-ranked wildcard, whose past victims at the All England Club have included Lleyton Hewitt and, in 2015, Rafael Nadal, whom Kyrgios even more famously upset the year before.
"When you're playing a guy like Dustin, you hope it's not a day when he's feeling it, he can't miss, he's enjoying it. When he's playing like that, we all know what he can do, what he's capable of. He's a great player. As well, he's exciting. I'm ready to have fun out there with him."
Kyrgios is expecting a "circus" - but, from one entertainer to another, the 21-year-old means that in a good way. "His style of tennis, it's just big. He's got a big serve. He likes to come in. He's creative. I think that's important to have in tennis."
Flair, indeed, will be abundant, with the Australian king of the tweener nominating his favourite Brown moment as a reflex around-the-back volley winner against John Isner in February. "I probably watched it honestly like 15 times," Kyrgios admitted. "He's got that ability. He can pull out shots like that from anywhere. He's awesome to watch."
The pair cemented their friendship as Singapore Slammers teammates in the 2015 IPTL, with Brown almost as well known for his laid-back attitude as his hair, the long, long dreadlocks that stretch down his back. "I like touching it," Kyrgios told the BBC, interestingly. "I've touched it a couple of times."
The match should be compelling viewing, for there are few besides the usual suspects that are as comfortable on the surface as these two. Kyrgios' familiarity was bred in the juniors, where he twice won the boys' doubles. "I feel as if I'm so used to the surroundings, I feel I've played on a lot of courts here," he said. "I feel like my junior success I had here was a big reason why I had success early on the men's tour. I felt comfortable and I felt confident."
Kyrgios believes the Stepanek match has prepared him well for what is to come, even flagging a possible professional relationship with the 37-year-old whose departure from court two was that of a player who may not necessarily be expecting to return.
The unofficial player/mentor relationship that "just sort of happened", according to Kyrgios, may yet evolve, the Canberran having parted with his last full-time coach, Todd Larkham, a year ago. "I mean, I don't really know what I want yet with a coach. So for me, just to have him give me advice here and there, while his career is still going... you never know.
"When he stops, he might step into a role where I might bring him along to tournaments. I don't know. I'm more than willing to give it a go with a guy like that, that has had such great success for a long time."
Seeded 15th this time, Kyrgios reached the quarter-finals and the fourth round on his first two visits, and has big ambitions for the third, which could lead past Brown - who defeated Serbian Serbian Dusan Lajovic in five sets - to veteran Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez in the third round and probably second seed Andy Murray in the fourth.
What would be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament is still some distance away, with the irresistible story so far that of world No.772 Marcus Willis, who won through two phases of qualifying of an opponent ranked more than 700 places above him and was scheduled to meet Roger Federer on centre court in a fairytale second round.
"I didn't even know he was still playing tennis," said Kyrgios. "I saw him qualify. I always knew he was a talented guy. He's pretty 'handsy'. I mean, dreams do start here. It happened for me. It's a good week for him. He's facing Federer next, but anything can happen, I guess."
