Lleyton Hewitt's task of appearing in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time in seven years doesn't get much tougher with reigning champion and world No.1 Novak Djokovic standing in his way at Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.
The Australian veteran has surprised many by finding himself among the last 16 men still standing at the 2012 Australian Open.
Hewitt was handed a wildcard to the event after injury and surgery saw the two-time Grand Slam champion's year-end world ranking plummet to its lowest depths (188) since his first year on the ATP Tour back in 1997.
The 30-year-old was restricted to just 11 tournaments in 2011 and he made it to the final eight in only three of them.
And things weren't looking too promising for Hewitt in the lead-up to this year's event when he lost to Victor Troicki in the first round of the Sydney International in what was his first competitive hitout since Australia's Davis Cup engagement with Switzerland in September.
But as he has done on so many occasions throughout his illustrious career, Hewitt has fought back to prove the doubters wrong in style so far at Melbourne Park.
He first overcame German world No.83 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in four sets before easing past No.15 seed Andy Roddick who retired hurt with Hewitt leading 3-6 6-3 6-4.
The 2002 Wimbledon champ then showed true grit on Saturday night when he came back from a set down to send prodigious Canadian talent and world No.25 Milos Raonic packing in what his best performance of this year's Australian Open to date.
The manner in which Hewitt has performed at the tournament is all the more admirable considering he has undergone five bouts of surgery in the past five years.
Hewitt thrives when his back is against the wall and his back will be indistinguishable from the wallpaper when he locks horns with Djokovic.
The 24-year-old Serb has taken the tennis world by storm in the past 12 months and is currently the holder of all the Grand Slam crowns bar the French Open.
Djokovic's domination of the sport began at this very sporting precinct a year ago when he beat Andy Murray in the final and he would go on to lose just six of his 76 matches on the Tour in 2011.
The scary thing for his competitors is that he looks to be in even more devastating form this year.
Djokovic has crushed his first three opponents at the 2012 Australian Open, conceding just 10 games on the way to the fourth round.
The No.1 seed has spent just four hours and 28 minutes on court so far compared to Hewitt's total of 11 hours and 48 minutes (including his doubles matches).
That has to be of major concern to Hewitt as he attempts to qualify for his first Grand Slam quarter-final since Wimbledon 2009.
Hewitt will also have to buck the historic trend between himself and Djokovic which has seen the Serb win their last four encounters and not be beaten by the Australian since 2006.
In other fourth-round action at Melbourne Park on Monday, 2011 finalist Murray meets Kazakh surprise packet Mikhail Kukushkin, No.6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faces 24th-seeded Kei Nishikori and fifth seed David Ferrer will tackle No.17 seed Richard Gasquet.
In the women's, second-seeded Petra Kvitova does battle with glamour girl Ana Ivanovic, five-time champion Serena Williams takes on Russia's Ekaterina Makarova, 2008 winner Maria Sharapova meets No.14 seed Sabine Lisicki and unseeded duo Sara Errani (Italy) and Jie Zheng (China) will fight for a place in the final eight.