Milos Raonic believes he is developing into the kind of "nuisance" who just might have the form and power to spring a Wimbledon surprise this summer.
Raonic swept past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1 6-4 to book a Queen's semi-final with Bernard Tomic, then immediately admitted he would target trophies on grass this year.
The 25-year-old feels his new partnership with super coach John McEnroe is growing day by day, and his last-eight victory leaves open the possibility of an Aegon Championships final showdown with Andy Murray.
That would pit two old foes turned star coaches against each other again, in Ivan Lendl and Raonic's new mentor McEnroe, and the big-serving Canadian sees no reason why he cannot keep improving.
"I feel pretty close to being at my very best," said Raonic.
"I don't know necessarily how to judge that but I feel I'm moving well, taking care of the things I want to take care of, and I'm being effective on the court."
Raonic believes McEnroe has already helped him add a more aggressive edge to his net-court play on grass.
And the world number nine even admits he feels far better equipped to thrive on grass than even during his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals two years ago.
When asked how much more comfortable he felt on grass now than in 2014, Raonic replied: "It's hard to put a number on it but I'd say significantly.
"Because I felt that year I served well, but I felt like I would create a few opportunities for myself and I was efficiently converting them, but now I feel I'm creating a lot more opportunities for myself.
"I feel like I'm more of a nuisance to the other guy this time around."
This is exactly the kind of attitude and application that may just hand defending Queen's champion Murray pause for thought.
Murray fought for fluency throughout his 6-4 3-6 6-1 win over fellow Brit Kyle Edmund, eventually pulling clear in the deciding set.
Murray's 21-year-old opponent Edmund mounted an impressive challenge, and will break into the world's top 70 following his exploits at Queen's this week.
Murray will face fifth seed Marin Cilic in Saturday's semi-finals, after the Croat saw off Steve Johnson 6-7 (3/7) 6-3 6-4.
Australian Tomic laboured to a 7-6 (7/5) 4-6 6-2 victory over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller to round off a busy day in west London.
Eight-time champion Roger Federer is one match away from an 11th final at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.
The top seed saw off David Goffin 6-1 7-6 (10/8) to book a semi-final against Alexander Zverev on Saturday after the latter edged out Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (9/7) 6-3.
Third seed Dominic Thiem was handed a walkover into the semi-finals after Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew with a left hip strain.
Thiem will face Florian Mayer in the other Halle semi-final, after Mayer moved past Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.
Source: PA
