Yevgeny Kafelnikov knows exactly what is takes to reach the very peak.
The Hall of Famer was the first Russian man to win a Grand Slam at Roland Garros 1996, before triumphing at Melbourne Park at AO1999.
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His countrymen have done him proud this fortnight, with three Russian men advancing to the quarterfinals of a major for the very first time.
Top 10 duo Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, facing each other on Wednesday, have been joined by ATP Cup team-mate Aslan Karatsev, who is remarkably already into the semis.
The world No.114, the lowest ranked man to reach the last four of a Grand Slam since Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon 2001, has unleashed some serious firepower to make quite the statement in his maiden major.
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Kafelnikov feels it’s “inevitable” one of his compatriots will lift a major soon, but like most of the tennis world, has been taken aback by Karatsev’s devastating debut.
“It was really expected that two of them got to where they are, but the third one is a big surprise. But a very happy surprise. I’m very happy for Aslan, finally getting his breakthrough,” said Kafelnikov in an interview with the ATP.
“He’s going to play a lot of tournaments now without any pressure for the remainder of the 2021 season in terms of getting into the main draws and a big pay cheque will also be a huge boost for him. I'm really happy for him.”
Over to the all-Russian duel, world No.4 Medvedev is riding an 18-match winning streak stretching back to the Paris Masters in November.
Medvedev also won their 2020 US Open quarterfinal clash in straight sets.
According to Kafelnikov, the start is vital for Rublev to clinch his first victory over Medvedev at the fourth attempt.
“I stick to my view that whoever wins the first set on Wednesday is going to take the match. Andrey is a great front-runner. That’s another thing that concerns me a lot when he plays top-level players. He’s going to struggle to come back into the match when he loses the first set. In that sense, it’s a must for him to win the first set if he wants to get through that quarterfinal,” he said.
“I don’t think it affects his psychological side. But perhaps when he would lose the first set, he would think, 'Okay, I need to dig in harder to win three more sets, it’s going to take a lot of effort to pull through.' In that sense, maybe Andrey is also lacking that bit of confidence that he can win the match after losing the first or even the first two sets. That’s where my concern would be on Rublev’s side.”
The current Russian contingent, also including Top 20 talent Karen Khachanov, are pushing hard for their Grand Slam breakthrough in an era of legendary figures.
Kafelnikov points out he faced a plethora of greats in his time too.
“We would probably say that we played in a way harder generation in terms of average level of player and they would say they played in the Big Three era when those guys won practically every Slam for the past 14 years,” said the Russian, who lost the AO2000 final to Andre Agassi.
“They would say for them it is harder to break through and become the No.1 player in the world. It’s almost unfair to draw the line between the generations.
“We all had our times playing against guys like Sampras, Agassi, Becker, Edberg, Kuerten, players like that. They would say they had a hard time playing against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.”
He would have certainly enjoyed Karatsev’s four-set triumph over Grigor Dimitrov.
Two Russian semifinalists are guaranteed - can one join Kafelnikov on the Roll of Honour at Melbourne Park?
“I am very excited, but not only me. All the fans in Russia are excited,” says the former champion.