Beaten in three sets, he was visibly crushed. But he was patient. Australian border authorities detained him for being un-COVID-vaccinated last year, locked him up in a quarantine hotel, and deported him, despite Tennis Australia having assured him that he could compete with a medical exception, which other players were granted. He was disgusted and aggrieved, but he could wait: and the wait paid off. He went through the tournament this year dropping only one set, showing, with his feet and his racquet, brain, and heart, that no one could play at his level.