Britain's Dan Evans thought his chance to face Roger Federer had gone and is ready to seize the moment when they meet at Wimbledon on Friday.
Evans produced one of the finest performances of his career to beat 30th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov on Thursday and his reward is a meeting with Federer in the third round.
The pair have never met before, although Evans came close at the US Open in 2013 when he stood one win away from the Swiss but lost to Tommy Robredo.
Robredo went on to beat Federer in straight sets in the last 16 and Evans admits he could not help but feel envious.
"Did it feel like a missed opportunity? Yeah I mean definitely," Evans said.
"I thought about it for a while after it happened. Robredo was cramping in the fourth set against me and I had set point.
"I genuinely probably didn't think I'd ever get a chance to play Federer, especially as I wasn't that confident playing Dolgopolov.
"It's a nice thing to happen after I beat Dolgopolov. It's another match, like I said. I'm not going to go out there to be just another guy he rolls. I'm going to put up a good fight hopefully."
Federer played his role perfectly when he faced another Briton, Marcus Willis, on Wednesday, allowing the world number 772 his time in the spotlight while efficiently ending the fairytale run.
Willis and Evans are often compared - long-time friends who both like a joke and a night out and have failed to match their talent with application.
But Evans showed in his 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 6-1 dismissal of Dolgopolov just how serious he is about his tennis these days and he views a likely Centre Court date with Federer rather differently to his countryman.
"He's not a normal guy obviously, but he's another tennis player who I have to prepare myself to just play another match," said the 25-year-old from Solihull.
"Against him, it would be stupid to say it's not a special occasion to play him. It will be on a big court. It's going to be a great, great experience. Hopefully an even better one than most people think.
"It's not a day out for me. It's a chance. It's a good opportunity. It's not a Lord Mayor's Show. I'm taking it seriously."
In the women's tournament, British number four Tara Moore will take on Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in round three.
Moore is the only female from this country left in the draw, following defeats for Johanna Konta and Heather Watson on Thursday, and the world number 227 is looking for only her second win at a grand slam.
In the men's doubles Britain's Jonathan Marray and Canadian Adil Shamasdin knocked out reigning champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-2 7-6 (7/3).
World number one doubles player Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares are also through. They beat Britain's Colin Fleming and Jonathan Elrich 6-2 6-7 (7/9) 6-3.
Source: PA
