World No.7 David Goffin wants to ride his wave of confidence all the way to a maiden semi-final appearance at this month's Australian Open.
Goffin enjoyed a strong end to 2017, and he started 2018 on a bright note as well with Hopman Cup wins over world No.4 Alexander Zverev, Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Belgium narrowly missed out on a spot in the final, but the mixed-teams tournament gave Goffin a strong preparation for the first major of the year.
The Australian Open is shaping to be a wide open race in the men's field following a host of injury concerns to the world's best players.
Three-time major winner Andy Murray (hip) and Kei Nishikori (wrist) have already pulled out, while Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, and Milos Raonic are under injury clouds.
Goffin looms as a dark horse following a career-best year in 2017.
The year ended with him spearheading Belgium's Davis Cup loss to France in the final.
That defeat was by no means the fault of Goffin, who won his singles matches against Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Shortly before that, Goffin beat both Nadal and Federer on the way to reaching the decider of the ATP Finals in London.
Now, Goffin has his eyes firmly fixed on grand slam success.
The 27-year-old has only reached the quarter-final of a grand slam twice - at the Australian Open last year and the French Open in 2016.
"This year, I want to go far. I want to go maybe one step further in the draw," Goffin said.
"I only made the quarter-finals twice.
"But the way is really long, and there's a lot of tough matches. You have to manage the fatigue and the weather.
"I won a lot of matches in the last few months. I'm ready to go far. But it doesn't mean it will be there."
Goffin will continue his Australian Open build-up at the January 9-12 Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
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