He's taken down Roger Federer, put Novak Djokovic through the ringer and now John Millman is bracing for another of tennis's ultimate challenges: confronting Dominic Thiem on clay.
Millman is embarrassed to be dubbed Australia's spearhead for next week's Davis Cup tie against the Thiem-led Austrians in Graz.
But that's the reality with Nick Kyrgios's absence leaving Millman as Australia's top-ranked player for the September 14-16 tie.
Millman's breakout run to the US Open quarter-finals has the 29-year-old projected to rise to No.37 in the world on Monday, one spot above teenage prodigy Alex de Minaur, who stretched Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic to five sets in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
"We've still got a really good team. I love what Alex de Minaur's about," MIllman said before flying out of New York following his quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic.
"He's been playing incredible. He had a great hard-court swing, too, in Washington and this week here at the US Open, pushing Marin to five sets.
"He's a great player and I don't think there's a No.1 or No.2 in this team.
"It's just us coming together and representing our country and we're incredibly proud to do so."
The radical overhaul of Davis Cup, which will transform into an week-long 18-team end-of-season finale from 2019, has rendered Australia's World Group "play-off" meaningless.
Millman doesn't agree.
"Look, any time you get to represent your country you carry the weight of the country on your shoulders. That's my opinion on it," he said.
"I think it's quite a special tie. This is potentially the last time that we could be playing with a format that's been around for over a hundred years."
Millman and de Minaur will be joined by player-captain Lleyton Hewitt, who is likely to partner John Peers in doubles, and Jordan Thompson.
The visitors face a mammoth task trying to stop Thiem from leading Austria to victory.
Runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the French Open, the seventh-ranked Thiem again showcased his class with an epic five-set quarter-final loss to the world No.1 in New York this week.
"He's probably the second-best clay-courter currently," Millman said.
"He's a great player; a big hitter of the ball. It really moves off the clay, jumps around, and he's a good competitor.
"I've got a lot of time for him.
"But not just Dominic Thiem, they've got a very, very strong team.
"Dennis Novak made third round at Wimbledon and qualified here.
"He's a very good player and they've got a world-class doubles team, so it's going to be an incredibly tough tie.
"But I know our preparation will be top notch and I'm sure we can really stick it to them."
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