Alex De Minaur has credited Lleyton Hewitt and the NSW State of Origin team for providing the inspiration for his stunning Brisbane International victory over Milos Raonic.
De Minaur shocked the big Canadian 6-4 6-4 in their second-round clash on Wednesday night to book a quarter-final match-up with another young gun on the rise, American qualifier Michael Mmoh.
It was by far the biggest win of the 18-year-old's career as he showed flashes of his mentor Hewitt's ferocious baseline defence in nullifying former world No.3 Raonic's booming serve.
And such was the confidence he got from it, he immediately outed himself as a NSW rugby league supporter despite being deep in enemy territory in Queensland.
De Minaur bellowed his catch-cry 'Blue Wall' after securing the win, an Origin reference that also explains his approach to tennis.
"Blue Wall is what the NSW State of Origin team calls themselves," he told reporters.
"And it's sort of a mindset of trying to be a brick wall potentially, just not giving anything away, not giving anything cheap away, and just pretty much leaving it all out there.
"So that's what I like to think Blue Wall is. That's what us New South Welshmen try to do while we're on the court."
De Minaur made only one unforced error while Raonic coughed up 18 in his first match since October, when he pulled the pin on an injury-wrecked 2017 campaign.
Hewitt, a South Australian by birth who now lives in Sydney, watched on from the stands and De Minaur said he had been an "unbelievable help" in plotting the victory.
"He would like to be part of a Blue Wall, but I don't think he is yet," De Minaur laughed.
"One of the first things he ever told me was to believe in myself, that I've got a good enough game to be battling it out with these guys.
"It's all about me believing it. I think that's finally happening ... you can see the results now."
The withdrawal of Andy Murray means De Minaur, who has Spanish and Uruguayan heritage, suddenly has a rails run to the final if he can maintain his current form.
There are no more seeded players left on his side of the draw after Germany's Mischa Zverev was upset by Saudi Arabian-born teenager Mmoh, who he will meet on Friday.
De Minaur's win over Raonic has seen him jump from No.208 to No.184 in the provisional world rankings - two positions short of his career best position, which he achieved last October.
He could move up another 20 spots if he beats Mmoh and surge as high as No.124 in the world if he manages to somehow take out the tournament.
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