Alex de Minaur has made the bold declaration he'll be back to his fluid best and moving better than ever at the Australian Open, with victory over his debilitating hip injury now finally in sight.
Australia's No.1 has prompted some surprise by turning out in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) event in London this weekend after a long, injury-hit but breakthrough 2024 campaign.
He even admitted on the eve of the three-day tournament, which begins on Friday, he was still battling through the pain barrier when competing in both the recent ATP Finals and Davis Cup.
But the 25-year-old offered a bullish update on his fitness in an interview with AAP on Thursday, explaining: "Everything's gearing towards a pain-free, positive Australian Open.
"That's absolutely my priority and I'm feeling pretty good, pretty fit. Every day, I feel like I'm moving more like the old me, more fluid, and I've got less of that mental barrier (over the injury) that I was also dealing with.
"There's still a very slight pain (from the freak hip injury he suffered at Wimbledon) but I’m sure that in Australia I’ll be pain-free and be able to move even better than before."
It bodes well for the world No.9, who revealed that cracking the world's top-10 early in 2024 was his favourite moment of the year and predicted 2025 could be even better.
"I'm happy I'm trending in the right direction towards starting the new season, hopefully pain-free. That's my biggest goal. Ever since Wimbledon, the times I've been able to play it's been with a lot of pain, and it's hindered me.
"There's always been pain. I've been able to push harder some days than others. It's been there, but there was so much to play for that you just kind of push through."
De Minaur admitted he didn't have to play in the non-tour 'UTS' event, a three-day, eight-man event, featuring fellow top-tenner Andrey Rublev and his Aussie compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, yet he felt it was an important gauge, after 10 post-Davis Cup training days, of his progress.
UTS is an abbreviated, unashamedly youth-targeted, rock 'n roll version of tennis, created by coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Alex Popyrin, the businessman father of Australian star Alexei Popyrin, featuring time limits, one-serve-per-point and a higher percentage of 'pressure points', all staged against a chaotic, musical backdrop.
De Minaur, a big supporter since its inception, reckoned: "The sheer fact of having music playing, lights on, people in the crowd moving, everyone shouting, helps me work on my focus.
"There's probably not going to be too many times you see me at the end of the season with my feet up in the Maldives, anyway. I tend to get back to work quite quickly after Davis Cup.
"There's not a lot of time to prepare for the start of next year, so I like to be ahead of the curve and get some good work in the off-season. So we had two days off after Davis Cup - and then we got back to work.
"This is a great event to test the water, see what's been working with the little tweaks you're making, and getting yourself ready for Australia."
Thursday's preparation was a little more light-hearted, though.
De Minaur, inevitably nicknamed 'The Demon' in UTS-speak, indulged in some eve-of-match nonsense, playing doubles alongside Holger ‘The Viking’ Rune, with the pair using cricket bats, frying pans and guitars instead of racquets against West Ham's properly equipped soccer duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal.
It is thought the tennis players still prevailed, with de Minaur last seen being presented with a Hammers' No.6 shirt, recognising his highest ATP ranking.
