Kyle Edmund insists he’ll play with no fear as he takes on Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Edmund is brimming with confidence after a battling 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory over 20th seed John Isner secured a place in a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time.
Big-serving Isner banged down 27 aces and had the support of a vocal home crowd in New York but Edmund thrived in the pressure cooker environment to underline his promise.
Defending champion and top seed Djokovic is Andy Murray’s chief rival at Flushing Meadow and Edmund admitted he’ll seek the advice of his Davis Cup team-mate before the clash.
They’ve played once before, the Serbian winning 6-3, 6-3 in the Masters event in Miami this year.
“Playing the world number one is always going to be tough," said Edmund. "He's rightfully world number one. He's been very consistent at a high level.
"I'll learn from what happened in Miami. Playing Isner at the French Open helped me, so maybe that will help me again.
"It's been a great tournament so far. I've really enjoyed it but perhaps this wasn’t a great result for the home crowd.
“When you play John your chances don't come very often, so you have to capitalise when they do.
"With his serve, when you get a racket on the ball you have to quickly hustle and I played the big points well.
"I knew it was going to come down to one or two points, so I'm very pleased I came out on top."
Meanwhile, British number one Johanna Konta admits she is still feeling the effects of her dramatic on-court collapse in the second round, after winning her third round match in just 52 minutes.
Belinda Bencic had no answers as the Australian Open semi-finalist dropped just three games to win 6-2, 6-1.
"I'm still recovering, it was quite a traumatic experience. I'm just still working on getting better,” she said.
"I think the best I can do for myself is move on from it, and I felt I did that."
Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova, who beat third seed Garbine Muguruza earlier this week, will be next up, with either America's Madison Keys or a back in form Caroline Wozniacki awaiting further ahead.
Sportsbeat 2016