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It is day two of the Australian Open and there is much to discuss. The pundits are chewing the end of their pens and pondering whether Novak Djokovic can become the first man in the Open Era to win three consecutive titles in Melbourne, whether Andy Murray can become the first man in the Open Era to back up his debut Grand Slam success by winning the next major title or whether Roger Federer can break his own record and become the first man ever to win 18 Grand Slam titles.
The media spotlight shines bright on these three international superstars and, professional to a tee, they deflect the glare with panache and aplomb and take it one match at a time.
But there was a time when Lukas Rosol was on the front and back page of every newspaper. Just six months ago, Rosol, then the world No.100, did the unthinkable and beat Rafael Nadal in five sets in the second round of Wimbledon. For 48 glorious hours the big bloke from Brno was the talk of the tennis world: how had he won? How could this happen? Could he do it again?
"It¹s like just some B team in the Czech Republic can beat Real Madrid," Rosol said at the time as he tried to put his achievement into context. "It's something like this. I think if I beat Rafa now so I can beat anyone. It's just tennis and everybody's human."
And then, just to prove his point, big Lukas showed just how human he was by losing in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the very next round. From there it was just a short step back into obscurity. Over the course of the rest of that season, he failed to qualify for the US Open and won just six more matches on the main tour. This year, he has won just one match in a tour event the first round in Qatar and now finds himself out on Court 20 today facing Jamie Baker.
Who is Jamie Baker? He the world No.246 from Glasgow and a great pal of Andy Murray. He spent the off-season working with the world No.3 in Murray¹s Miami training base and after working himself narrow following the Muzz¹s eye-watering training regime, he arrived fit and battle hardened enough to fight his way through the qualifying competition. Then again, Baker has never been shy of hard work. One of nature¹s grafters, his work ethic and professionalism are second to none if only he had some of Murray¹s sublime skills, his ranking and his bank balance might be looking a little healthier.
Despite the fact that he has known Murray for a lifetime, his fellow Scot never ceases to amaze Baker. And what he saw of the US Open champion¹s form and fitness over Christmas took our Jamie¹s breath away.
"Just hitting balls with him is so eye opening," Baker said."³At times I will come off the court and say I just cannot understand how he has got that good. I cannot relate to what he is doing with the ball compared to how hard I am trying to do similar things.
"We¹ve known each other since I was about six years old. In terms of a friendship, he¹s perhaps the only person in my life who I have known for that long. No matter what he does there are no secrets between us. I know everything about him and vice-versa. It¹s nice in a crazy tennis world to have someone like that."
It was particularly important to have such a good friend to support him when, in 2008, he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopeni Purpura (ITP), a disease that attacks the clotting agents in the blood and leaves the patient at risk of bleeding to death from the slightest cut or bruise.
Practising in Tampa, Florida, with his friend Brendan Evans, suddenly noticed lots bruises on his arms and a rash on his shoulder. Evans called his mother, who is a nurse, for advice and she urged Baker to get himself to hospital as soon as possible. There he spent three days in intensive care as the doctors discovered the clotting agents in his blood were at 'catastrophically low' levels, meaning that a tiny bump on the head could have led to a brain haemorrhage.
It took three months before he could play again but Baker being Baker, he kept plugging away and now, four years on and having earned his place in the draw here, he knows that a win today could be a turning point in his career.
"I have never won a match at a slam," he said. "Ranking wise it would make a massive difference: huge points, huge money and it will set me up for the tougher schedule I aim to play this year. It boosts my position to get into those tournaments."
Court 20 at Melbourne Park may not be the biggest stage in the sport and Rosol and Baker may not be the marquee names on everyone's lips but wherever you turn today, there are men and women fighting tooth >and nail for every point. And while a first round win maybe a routine occurrence for Messrs Djokovic, Murray and Federer, for the lesser ranked players, it can make all the difference in the world.