It is time now for Pat Rafter to come out from the shadows. He has been stalking the draw for nearly two weeks while the fizzle and pop of the show courts has centred around Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
Rafter's unfussy advancement has been highlighted by his all-round game and ability to play tight matches without falling into error.
From his opponent Agassi's point of view it will require another adjustment from the game plan that humbled Rafter's compatriot Mark Philippoussis.
Rafter has a big serve but doesn't rely on it. In tandem with greater athleticism around court, the Australian will be a more complex package than simply the big serve and ripping forehand of Philippoussis.
"I'll go out there and play my own game. That's all I can do. You can only go out and play your style. If it's not good enough then obviously you're dealing with a lot better player," says Rafter.
While Rafter's progress has been seen by some as surprising given the fractious relationship he has had with his shoulder since undergoing surgery, he also understands that another energy level will be required to temper Agassi's pizzazz.
"Against Andre I'm going to have to step it up a notch. There is no weakness in Andre at all. It's very hard to get him on a bad day. I am not expecting Andre to have a bad day," says Rafter.
With typical shrewdness Agassi is talking Rafter's ability up to greater heights than anyone else. Although Rafter is seeded 12 to Philippoussis 10, the American believes the older 27-year-old Bermuda resident has more to offer than 23-year-old Philippoussis.
"He thinks lot more out there than Philippoussis does because he relies more on a well-rounded game," says Agassi. "I'm going to have to make adjustments and play well to beat him."
The question hanging on most people's lips is whether Pete Sampras will have to play well to beat qualifier Vladimir Voltchkov.
Tradition determines that romance has a finite life span in a Grand Slam. Meeting the best player who ever set foot on a grass court raises the upset potential exponentially.
If Sampras were to lose to the Belarussian, everyone on the tour would instinctively believe that the king's crown is slipping. For Sampras the match is as much about maintaining his aura of invincibility as it is beating Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam titles.
When Voltchkov was asked what element of the Sampras game he could attack, the 22year-old simply broke into a broad smile and hesitated.
"That's a good question," he said. "I mean here we are talking about the greatest player of all time. It's difficult to find any weakness."
Behind it all, Voltchkov comes from Minsk, played his tennis on the car factory court and has battled his way around the circuit almost penniless for four years, borrowing cloths from more successful kindred spirits such as Marat Safin.
The smile of course is a decoy. Voltchkov had his dose of romance when he won the junior competition here four years ago. While he has nothing to lose, he has lots to gain as the semi-final pay cheque of £119,380 sterling will have reinforced. But playing from the back of the court, which he favours, against a player hoping to move into uncharted territory, might not be the way to do it this year.
