Revelling in her newfound role as a grand slam seed, Daria Gavrilova returns to Melbourne Park on Saturday ready to roll into the Australian Open fourth round for the second straight year.
Australian tennis's new golden girl takes on Timea Bacsinszky confident of again going the distance despite two tough three-setters already this week.
"I'm pretty fit. I've had a pretty good pre-season," Gavrilova said.
"I'm not concerned. I have played for three hours before and I did train for two-and-a-half hours (a session) in the pre-season."
A late-season surge, including victory over world No.1 Angelique Kerber, shot the 22-year-old up the rankings and Gavrilova admits her promotion is not only a confidence booster but definitely "cool" too.
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"It's pretty special when they introduce me before the match and say: 'Okay, the No. 22 seed, Daria Gavrilova from Australia'," the bubbly youngster said.
Gavrilova has no doubts she's an improved player since making the fourth round last year and with wins over Bacsinszky in both their previous encounters is optimistic about matching her 2016 run.
"We had some tough battles. It was never easy to play her. She's such a great competitor," Gavrilova said.
"But I think it is true that I've beaten her and it gives me a bit more confidence."
The home hope is still not looking too far ahead, though.
"I'm not thinking about the future. I'm just being in the moment right now," Gavrilova said.
"I'm happy with the way I'm playing right now."
A third win over Bacsinszky would likely propel Gavrilova into a last-16 showdown on Monday with fifth-seeded US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova, who plays Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday.
