For a player who started the season at No.31, dropped no lower than 38th and made his top 20 debut, it may seem odd to be describing Alex de Minaur’s 2019 as a bumpy ride.
Yet what was challenging at times finished in hugely posiitive territory, with the 20-year-old at both a career high of No.18 and pressing to continue his ascent.
The top-ranked Australian man is one of close to a dozen in the top 200, and the second-youngest - by 170 days, behind Alexei Popyrin, whose own personal-best finish was in double-figures for the first time.
The two #NextGenATP standouts are among a group that includes the resolute (John Millman), the resurgent (Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth), the frustrated (Thanasi Kokkinakis), steady improvers (Chris O’Connell, Andrew Harris), and those in rankings decline (Bernard Tomic).
Nick Kyrgios, typically, belongs in a category all of his own. The only Australian man to win ATP 500 titles (Acapulco, Washington) and topple two members of the top five (Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev) is still one of the sport’s most combustible and perplexing characters, and remains under probation - and the threat of a six-month ban - after being found guilty of “aggravated behaviour” at the Cincinnati Masters in August.
And yet, for all that, and a collarbone injury that thwarted his Asian swing, he finished ahead of where he started despite a limited schedule of just 19 tournaments, and with a Davis Cup recall that returned him to one of the team events (see Laver Cup) that the Canberran has hailed as the key to tennis' survival.
As ever, Kyrgios' potential upside is boundless, but, on top of persistent injury interruptions, it scarcely needs restating that the mental issues preventing the 24-year-old from doing justice to his vast talent are also yet to be overcome.
De Minaur’s is a far different scenario, as he works on building the weapons needed to complement outstanding tenacity, movement and competitiveness.
Despite winning an ATP title in the opening month, and three overall on the hardcourts of Sydney, Atlanta (where he did not face a break point on his improved serve) and Zhuhai from five finals, heightened expectations and awareness meant the follow-up season to the speedster's breakout 2018 was always likely to be hard to repeat.
A groin injury would also make things progressively more difficult in the early stages, and De Minaur was sidelined between a first-round loss in Indian Wells until returning in Estoril for the clay swing in May.
He has spoken of expecting he would simply resume where he had been forced to pause, but went five months without winning consecutive matches, and it was only in Atlanta in late July that things started to fall back into place.
Indeed, a player who consults a sports psychologist daily admits there has been much to deal with in this high-profile new world.
“It was difficult to defend all the points I had earned last season. The injury, the fall in the rankings, dealing with all the pressure,’’ he said at the Paris Masters, which was sandwiched between finals runs in Basel and Milan.
“I still managed to win three titles this year. I'm proud of all the work I've done with my team and the progress we've made to get to this point. We've put in a lot of hours and sacrificed so much for moments like these.”
De Minaur will be better for them, he believes, just as Popyrin is soaking up the experience as he goes. Having started with a third-round appearance at the Australian Open, the 196-centimetre former French Open junior champion qualified a remarkable 11 times for the main draws where he will surely soon be a fixture.
Millman’s highlight was reaching the Japan Open final against Novak Djokovic in October, en route to replicating his maiden top-50 finish from 2018.
Multiple injury setbacks in earlier years mean the late-flourishing 30-year-old could be considered younger than that in tennis years, while bringing maturity and perspective to those still with much to learn, and reliably setting the example in terms of application, attitude and work ethic.
Thompson comes from the same committed mould as his Davis Cup teammates Millman and De Minaur, and a 1-11 record at Tour level in 2018 grabbed more of the attention than the 50-plus wins at Challenger level that helped to set the Sydneysider up for a recovery year. At 25, prime time is approaching, with the top 30 next in Thompson’s sights.
It's territory world No.201 Kokkinakis can only dream of, having been cruelly denied a clear run yet again. For each step forward taken by the talented South Australian, there seems to be a corresponding retreat. Most often, in fact, to the medical room, with just nine tour/Challenger events logged between absences with shoulder and pectoral complaints
As for Tomic, the 27-year-old is likely to find himself forced to qualify for what would be an 11th Australian Open.
If Kyrgios is the wildcard among the Aussie pack then De Minaur is the warrior, yet even if the pair will always be contrasting players and personalities, a new year beckons in which there will again be plenty of eyes on both.