The stage couldn't have got much bigger for one of Australia's Next Big Things.
Organisers had no hesitation in scheduling teenager Destanee Aiava to the fierce glare of Rod Laver Arena on day two of the Australian Open and a late afternoon match-up against the current women's world No.1 Simona Halep.
But Aiava, 17, put up an admirable show in what was her second grand slam match after her unveiling at these same courts 12 months ago.
The teenager eventually lost 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in one hour and 51 minutes to last year's French Open finalist, but not before the Melburnian offered a glimpse into the future.
Across the two sets, Halep won just 12 more points than Aiava - 84 to 72 - and the pair looked equally composed from the baseline. Aiava also edged ahead on winners.
Long considered a bright prospect, Aiava showed few nerves and jumped out to a 5-2 lead and it was game on. Some on-court and then off-court treatment for an apparent breathing issue, however, didn't appear to help her, and gave Halep the chance to pounce. She forced the opener to a tie-break. With her nose in front, the Romanian closed out the match with a 38-minute second set.
"Yeah, no, I just got really anxious at 5-2 and started hyperventilating a bit," Aiava later explained, smiling.
"Everything's fine."
Aiava, of course, is already remembered as the first player born in the 2000s to compete in a grand slam main draw. With the best player in women's tennis, Serena Williams, absent and her elder sister Venus Williams a first-round casualty, the idea that this Australian Open is providing a peep into the future was undeniable.
Aiava's raw power is already drawing comparisons with 23-time major champion Williams.
"She is very talented and powerful," Halep said in her on-court interview.
"I think she is going to be very good in the future.
"I can say she is a little bit like Serena ... and she looks like her."
Halep needed medical attention of her own - to her troublesome left ankle - in the second set.
"It was a very tough match. She's hitting the ball really well," said Halep.
"I fought hard. I believed I could win this match."
Just as Aiava was battling it out on centre court, across the Melbourne Park surrounds another bright young Australian prospect, 18-year-old Alexei Popyrin, was making his own grand slam debut.
Popyrin, the 2017 French Open junior singles champion, took on American Tim Smyczek on court 14 and put up a gallant show before losing in four sets.
Boasting a composed game, the gun teenager won an epic second-set tie-break 16-14, but his 30-year-old opponent was too strong overall, winning 6-3, 6-7 (14-16), 6-3, 6-3 in nearly three hours.
