For over a decade, Andy Murray has had the privilege -- or maybe the burden -- of being Britain's No.1 ranked male tennis player.
During that time, he has been the man most responsible for upholding British hopes whenever a Grand Slam comes around and has performed the role exceptionally, claiming two Wimbledon titles and one US Open crown.
However, with the Scot currently absent from this year's Australian Open to undergo surgery on his stubbornly troublesome hip, and Johanna Konta falling in the second round, the burden of upholding British expectations has fallen to Kyle Edmund.
The British No.2 has emerged as one of the surprise packages in Melbourne, producing one big result after another to reach the final eight of a major for the first time.
With a first slam quarterfinal against Grigor Dimitrov to come, there is a sense that Edmund's success in Australia could hail the start of a new chapter for the 23-year-old.
Following an unspectacular 2017, which saw Edmund hover around the world's Top 50, he will now breach the Top 40 for the first time and former coach Colin Beecher believes one of the key reasons for the development is a new found ability to close out games.
"People have spoken a lot about digging really deep in some of these close matches and that is something," Beecher told ESPN. "Last year he was in a lot of tight matches but didn't quite cross the line. This year that's been the big difference.
"He's obviously done what he's done in Australia and come through some tight matches so I think he has got a great combination where he is calm and collected but has also been tough mentally and dug really deep."
Last year alone, Edmund managed victory in just seven of the 25 deciding sets he played in. The most glaring demonstration of this came against Jack Sock during November's Paris Masters, where the Brit raced to a 5-1 lead in the final set before the American recovered to clinch the encounter in a tie break.
This season has been a different story. He has already won four out of five matches which have gone to the wire, with the most impressive triumph coming in his five-set battle with US Open finalist Kevin Anderson during the first round in Melbourne.
Beecher is no stranger to Edmund's exploits on the tennis circuit after taking him under his wing as a 16-year-old. Even then, the coach says that some of the Brit's key strengths -- notably his towering forehand -- were especially visible.
"There was no question that when you watched him you saw a boy that was very channeled, very focused, you knew what he wanted," Beecher told ESPN.
"He was very calm and collected and then from a game point of view, even then he had a very big forehand and it was a big weapon of his, which has obviously got greater as he's got older and more experienced."
Edmund has gone from strength to strength at the Australian Open and appears to be unfazed by the prospect of facing No. 3 seed Dimitrov, going as far as to voice his confidence that he can go all the way in Melbourne.
"I think his confidence has grown," Beecher added. "This tournament you can see it's almost a different person in terms of how confident he's got as the rounds have gone on.
"The win over Anderson in the first round gave him a lot of belief and he's snowballed that round after round. You can tell he's really worked at that."
With Murray due to spend the next few months on the sidelines, further success could also bring Edmund the accolade of being British No.1.
While Edmund's stature and self-belief continue to grow on the court, off the court, many believe the 23-year-old is still very introverted.
"I think it's quite interesting. He was very quiet but we got on great" Beecher added. "With my personality, things were good. I am a very upbeat type of person and I helped to bring out his personality.
"Over the years, he's definitely become more outgoing and you can tell, in this period of time that he's grown in stature more."
For all the improvements Edmund has shown in recent months, a first ATP Tour title continues to elude him. However, if performances down under can be used as a barometer of things to come, Beecher is convinced it won't be long before that dream becomes a reality for his former pupil.
"This year you have to think he has a shot of getting a title under his belt," he continued. "He's had a couple of semis last year, he was in the quarters at Brisbane before losing a tight match to Dimitrov. So you have to feel that with one of these events he can get a tour title."