Booed off the court after his fourth-round win, Tomas Berdych would have won back plenty of people with his gutsy display against Rafael Nadal, and he may finally believe he belongs in elite company as he seeks to take the final step to Grand Slam glory.
Berdych infuriated fans at Hisense Arena on Sunday when he refused to shake Nicolas Almagro's hand after believing the Spaniard had deliberately targeted his head with a fierce forehand when Berdych was standing at the net.
The ball struck him in the arm as he took evasive action and after going on to win in four sets Berdych snubbed Almagro, leading to a concerted chorus of booing from those in the stands as he tried to do a post-match interview.
But fast forward 48 hours and he would have won his share of admirers as he matched Nadal virtually shot for shot over the first two sets, at which point he should arguably have been just one set from victory.
Unfortunately for Berdych it wasn't to be as he put a backhand volley wide on set point with the open court beckoning and from there Nadal recovered to get home in four gruelling sets after four hours and 16 minutes.
It was an impressive display from a player who has finished each of the past six years inside the world's top 20 but the biggest benefit of his performance could well be where it leads for the rest of 2012.
He has been to one major final so far in his career, the Czech brushed aside by Nadal in straight sets in the decider at Wimbledon in 2010 after he had beaten a couple of handy types in Roger Federer in the quarter-finals and then current world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the semis.
But just over eight years after making his debut at Grand Slam level at the US Open, Berdych's only other semi-final appearance was earlier in 2010 at the French Open, while he also boasts three last-eight matches at the majors, including two now at Melbourne Park.
At 26, he has been around long enough to be a serious and regular contender at the year's four biggest events but perhaps the missing ingredient has been a lack of belief against the three biggest stars of the past decade.
Boasting 30 majors between them, Federer having won 16 to Nadal's 10 and Djokovic's four, Berdych has a 4-10 head-to-head record against Federer, 3-12 against Nadal after this latest defeat and 1-8 against Djokovic.
He should now spend plenty of time analysing the tape of Tuesday night's match to not only reflect on what he did so well in pushing Nadal all the way but also on what didn't work so well.
And if he can replicate the best parts of his game for the rest of the year, there's no reason why he can't continue to match it with the top three and perhaps start to take a few more wins against them.