Tennis great John Newcombe has declared that Nick Kyrgios has the weapons to break into the world's top 10, but warned the rising teen to protect his body and career from "red-light warnings".
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Kyrgios will start his Australian Open campaign on Monday against Argentine Federico Delbonis in Melbourne.
The Canberra teen is still battling a nagging back injury and his short career has been plagued by frustrating injury hurdles.
Newcombe - a former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion - described Kyrgios as "a real talent", but urged him not to break his body by pushing too hard too early.
"He's got the game and the weapons to be a top-10 player," Newcombe said. "But that doesn't just happen.
"I noted Mark Philippoussis gave a warning to Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis that the most important thing for them is to look after their bodies.
"With Nick having had some problems early in the year ... there are red-light warnings all over the place. My advice would be get the best possible trainer you can and do your training religiously.
"When you're 19 you think nothing can happen to you, but with a serious injury two years can be out of your tennis life in the blink of an eye."
Kyrgios enjoyed a stellar debut full grand slam season last year, finishing with a record better than Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray at the same stages in their careers.
Kyrgios beat then world No.1 Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, rising from 183 to 50 in the world rankings in 12 months and claiming the Newcombe Medal as Australia's best player.
But Newcombe believes the 19-year-old must brace for a huge challenge as he goes from underdog to wanted man.
Newcombe backed Kyrgios to advance to at least the third round at the Australian Open. If he makes it to the fourth round it could set up a dream match against childhood hero Federer.
Kyrgios was relatively unknown at the start of the Australian Open last year, but his performances have seen his popularity, exposure and public expectations skyrocket. On Saturday he signed with global marketing company IMG, which also handles Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic.
"Pressure comes with the territory. If you let it get to you, you're going to have problems," Newcombe said.
"Pat Rafter went through this after he got to 20 in the world quickly. All the expectation started to weigh on him and two years later he was No. 63.
"Then he got it together. It's about learning. With Lleyton Hewitt, it didn't worry him. He was No.1 at a very early age and it didn't worry him at all.
"I think Nick will handle the pressure quite well. How he handles his body and getting himself fit, I can't answer that.
"Everyone has had a good look at Nick now, they recognise he's a serious talent with serious weapons.
"They'll be picking his game apart to find weaknesses and they'll look mentally if there are any weaknesses. He's kind of a target."
Kyrgios has emerged as Australia's No. 1 player after his breakthrough year, passing veteran Hewitt and fellow young gun Bernard Tomic
Tomic admitted last week that Kyrgios' rise had taken pressure of him as Australia's "next big thing" and allowed him to fine-tune his game. Newcombe believes the Australian rivalry will drive Kyrgios, Tomic and Kokkinakis to greater heights.
"We're a couple of years away [from winning a grand slam] on the men's side," Newcombe said.
"I would like to think by the end of this year we have eight or nine players in the top 100. If Kyrgios, Tomic and Kokkinakis can stay injury-free, they could all be in the top 30.
"They will push each other, Nick coming along is the best thing that could have happened to Tomic."
