It's been a long time coming but Japanese star Kei Nishikori looks ready to challenge the best players and break into the top 10.
Nishikori first burst on to the scene in 2008 when as a 19-year-old in just his second Grand Slam appearance he reached the fourth round of the US Open with a stunning upset victory over fourth seed David Ferrer the highlight.
Following that performance, everyone expected Nishikori to take the next step and develop into one of the leading players on tour.
But it's taken him three years and another nine Grand Slam tournaments to finally match his last 16 showing with an eye-catching run in the first week at Melbourne Park.
After missing the bulk of 2009 with an elbow injury, Nishikori returned to the tour the following year but spent most of the season competing on the Challenger Tour until he once again produced his best tennis at Flushing Meadows with an upset win over 11th seed Marin Cilic in the second round.
The latter half of last year was when Nishikori really put himself on the map with a stunning run to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, which included victories over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Alexandr Dolgopolov.
He then became just the fourth person to beat world No.1 Novak Djokovic in 2011 with a stunning victory at the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors in November.
Now firmly entrenched in the top 30, Nishikori was expected to reach at least the third round of Australian Open and he did so with three impressive victories.
He came back from two sets down to beat Matthew Ebden in the second round before a composed four-set triumph over Julien Benneteau where he demonstrated experience beyond his age to outlast the veteran Frenchman.
Super consistent of both wings, Nishikori can match it with anyone at the back of the court and with great court speed, exceptional stamina and a level head he has all the attributes of a top 10 player.
With Japan not having a rich history in tennis, the 22-year-old knows a lot of his achievements are firsts for a nation that only has one other player ranked inside the top 100 - Go Soeda at No.99.
And while he is happy with his tournament so far he isn't resting on his laurels and is aiming to achieve even more.
"I never think about it (setting Japanese records). I try to do my best and win each matches. I don't know, the result is result, you know," he said after his third round win over Benneteau.
"I'm excited to get through here, Round of 16. That's my best result right now in Grand Slam. Yeah, I want to win next one."
Next up for Nishikori is sixth-seeded Frenchman Tsonga, who he has beaten in their only two meetings including last week at Kooyong.
Tsonga will head into the match as a warm favourite and even if Nishikori does bow out it is safe to say that we will be seeing his name in the second week of major tournaments for many years to come.