Before Christmas, Bernard Tomic could barely beat an egg.
He was derided as Tomic the Tank Engine, in strife – again – with Gold Coast police and finally suspended from Australia’s Davis Cup team.
A month later, after 10 straight wins to start his summer, Tomic now believes he can beat Roger Federer and turn the Australian Open on its head.
Suddenly half the country has jumped onto the Bernie Bandwagon ahead of his Saturday showstopper with the mighty Swiss at Melbourne Park.
Not since Andre Agassi almost 20 years ago lost the first wife, the wig and waistline to turn his career around has tennis witnessed such a stunning transformation.
But while Agassi’s revival took time, Tomic has morphed into a grand slam contender in a trice.
No longer a teenage prodigy, Tomic turned 20 and then flicked the switch.
After nine first-round losses between June and November and a rankings slide to outside the world’s top 50, Tomic had an epiphany.
“Time flies,” he said.
“I learnt that last year. A year goes by really quickly. All of a sudden I was 19, now I’m 20. That was in October last year.
“I said: `Look, time’s flying. I do have the talent. I can play good. But I’m not using it.’
“So I worked hard, as much as I could. It’s amazing what can happen in two months, let alone in the next year if you push yourself to improve every day.”
Until a first-round loss at Wimbledon, everything had come easily to Australia’s tennis boy wonder – a career-high ranking, junior grand slam crowns, countless age records and, like retired greats Jimmy Connors and Jim Courier before him, the prestigious Orange Bowl title in America.
Only when he started playing with the big boys – and losing – did Tomic realise his pro career may be slipping away before it really began.
“I think that’s what made me change,” he said.
“Obviously my ranking dropping made me wake up and say: `Look, regardless of how I’m playing, how I’m feeling, I’m losing my ranking and I’ve got to work hard’.
“A lot of rest and a lot of hard work – that’s been my go-to plan ever since I sat down and came back from Europe last year.
“I had a few flaws in my game, and I improved that. I improved my serve a lot and my fitness. That’s why I think I’m playing good tennis on the court. Hopefully I can keep it up, especially next round.”
The 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist insists his transformation has nothing to do with his Davis Cup dumping.
His conversations were only with himself.
“It’s just me,” he said.
“Before last year, I didn’t really have the urge to improve. I was doing well. I mean, I got to 27 in the world.
“But I just felt that I started not training as much, not doing the right things, not committing, not focusing on the tennis court. Slowly I was sliding down.
“Obviously I went through a lot of periods last year where I was losing first rounds. It changed me.
“It just felt like I was wasting my time last year. I reached a lot for my age, 18, 19. I achieved pretty good stats. But I wasn’t satisfied myself.
“After I turned 20, I was like: `I could have been much better than this. I’m not going to waste it anymore. I’m going to try to win.'”
While still ranked only 43rd, Tomic is performing like a genuine top-10 player and last week finally landed his maiden ATP title in Sydney.
But he has loftier ambitions than that.
“Obviously I’m going on the up,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot more things to prove for myself. That’s the most important thing. I’m not going to stop here. It doesn’t satisfy me.
“Winning last week and being on this winning match streak doesn’t satisfy me. I want to win grand slams.
“I’m going to try as much as I can to get the opportunity and work hard, the right chances.
“This is a chance and I’m going to take it onboard and we’ll see what happens on Saturday night.”