Alex Bolt believes he can match it with the world's leading players despite going down in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The South Australian, who was playing bush footy and building fences just six months ago, was far from disappointed with his 6-4 1-6 6-2 6-4 loss to world No.99 Yoshihito Nishioka.
"I didn't have any expectations on myself today, I was just going to go out and have some fun and play tennis," he said.
"Just to be playing and competing again is just unbelievable.
"What I can take from it is my level of tennis isn't too far away from the guys in the top 100."
The world No.632 smacked 54 winners in the clash and won almost as many points as his Japanese opponent.
But he failed to deliver on the points that mattered.
After breaking back to make it 4-5 in the fourth set, Bolt just as quickly dropped his own serve and gifted Nishioka his second win in a grand slam.
"I think if I'd won that fourth set, the momentum would have all been in my favour and you never know what could have happened after that."
However, the 24-year-old was all smiles after the match as he pondered his meteroic rise through qualifying and into this week's main draw.
His ranking is expected to jump more than 100 places and the $50,000 pay cheque will cover all travel expenses for 2017.
His outlook is quite different to that just nine months ago when a burnt-out Bolt threw in the towel weeks after making it to a career-high ranking of 160.
He traded tennis for a Sherrin and began kicking a few goals with Mypolonga Football Club in South Australia's Murraylands while working locally.
"At the time, I didn't want to touch a racquet," he said.
"As it went on and on, my feelings for it just got stronger and stronger and I just had to come back."
And he's not going anywhere.
"I'm back, I'm back," Bolt declared with a grin.
