JUST being talked about in the same breath as Australian stars Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur would have been a shock to Nick Kyrgios 12 months ago.
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But the rapid rise of the Canberra teenager means he will be far from out of place among the country's leading players.
Kyrgios is a finalist for the prestigious Tennis Australia Newcombe Medal and the Male Junior Athlete of the Year awards to be announced on Monday night.
He will be up against former World No.1 Hewitt, Australia's highest ranked male player Tomic, former US Open champion Stosur, Ash Barty and Casey Dellacqua for the Newcombe Medal.
The 18-year-old is coming off a breakthrough season in which he became the youngest player inside the world top 200 and recorded a stunning victory in the first round of the French Open against Radek Stepanek.
''It's a great achievement to be recognised for such a great year and I'm really honoured to be at the Newcombe Medal,'' Kyrgios said. ''You can't go past the first round of the French Open against Stepanek, it was the biggest win of my career.
''That was an experience I'll never, ever forget and I still can't describe the feeling.
''That was definitely the most memorable moment this year.''
Kyrgios had hoped to lower his ranking below 150 by the end of the year, but an elbow injury forced him to withdraw from an ATP tournament in Stockholm in October.
The world No.183 concedes the injury is one he will have to manage to reach his full potential.
''It was always something that wasn't going to go away,'' Kyrgios said. ''It's a bit of an impingement problem, so I'll have to stay on top of it all the time.
''The rehab program is the main thing, that keeps up the strength and doing everything correctly in the gym so you're getting fitter and stronger so you can compete against the top guys.''
Kyrgios is confident the injury won't prevent him from accepting his wildcard into the Brisbane International at the Queensland Tennis Centre from December 29.
He is unsure about whether he will contest the Sydney International the following week.
Kyrgios would be a strong chance for a wildcard into the main draw of the Australian Open.
However, he's shown he has the game to progress through qualifying and earn a spot in a grand slam, as he did at the US Open.
''If I do well at the Australian Open that can set me up for the rest of the year,'' Kyrgios said.
''I'm experienced in matches at the grand slam level so I'm prepared for whatever comes my way. I'm really excited about the next 12 months.''
