Alexei Popyrin is borrowing a famous Lleyton Hewitt mantra to stay cool amid the glare and pressure of a first-time grand slam seeding in New York.
Popyrin will open his US Open push on day one against Sonwoo Kwon as the tournament's 28th seed courtesy of a giant-killing run to Montreal Masters glory earlier this month.
The victory catapulted the 25-year-old to a career-high world No.23 and firmly into the spotlight as the first Australian since Hewitt in 2003 to snare an ATP 1000 crown.
Big things are expected of the former French Open junior champ who is at last starting to fulfil his rich potential.
But as his Davis Cup captain used to say ad nauseum: you can't win a slam in the first week, you can only lose it.
That is the steely focus Popyrin is applying as he strives to reach the second week at Flushing Meadows for the first time after twice bowing out in the third round.
"Lleyton knows what he's talking about. You can't win if you lose in the first week," Popyrin told AAP.
"So obviously the goal is always to go as far as you can to try and make a second week.
"But for me, it's one match at the time. If I'm able to think like that, then I believe I'm able to get to the second week."
Popyrin is seeded 28th after falling a touch down the rankings following a tight first-round loss to Gael Monfils two days after his breakthrough in Canada.
He's dismissed that defeat altogether.
"I just feel like the turnaround of Montreal to Cincinnati is super, super quick," he said.
"You play the final, you go to sleep at 4am and then you get on a flight the next morning and then you play the next day after that.
"So you see that with the results of the past winners over the last few years. They haven't really managed to do much in the (next) tournaments or even play the tournament."
Montreal, though, has proven a credible US Open form line in recent years, with greats including Rafael Nadal (2013, 2019), Novak Djokovic (2011), Roger Federer (2004, 2006) Daniil Medvedev (2021), Andy Roddick (2003) and Marat Safin (2000) all completing the title double in the past 25 years.
Pat Rafter was the last Australian to achieve the feat in 1998 and now Popyrin gets a chance.
Hewitt hailed Popyrin's breakthrough as a "massive" confidence booster.
"I was with him at the Olympics and he was a little down on confidence going into the Olympics there," said Australia's 2002 US Open champion.
"We tweaked a couple of things in his game and (worked) more on focus and belief and I actually thought he played some of his best tennis that I'd seen in a long time at the Olympics on clay.
"He came awfully close to winning the first set against (Alexander) Zverev. Served for the first set; had set point, and I think that belief that he was going toe to toe with some of the best players at Roland Garros there during the Olympics, playing for his country, that's given him that inner belief.
"So then he went to Montreal, obviously not with a lot to lose, but he made massive gains and the confidence that he got from that he was able to go out there and beat a real quality field to be able to hold up a massive title."
