"Anything is possible," Dellacqua said, ahead of her visit to Canberra for the ACT Women in Sport and Leadership brunch, hosted by Tennis ACT.

"I'm really excited to see how the year unfolds for him. We all want to see Nick reach his potential and do well. The world's his oyster in terms of what he can still achieve."

Garnett yelled those same three words after he helped the Celtics become NBA champions in 2008. It inspired a basketball-mad, then-teenage Kyrgios who would go on to reach a tennis ranking of world No.13.

That was 2016. Since then Kyrgios has had a rollercoaster experience on the court, openly falling in and out of love with a sport he is undoubtedly talented enough to dominate.

It's been a repeated story of unreached potential for the now 26-year-old, currently ranked 132 in the world having only played 11 events over the past two seasons due to the pandemic.

The Australian Open whirlwind alongside good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis might just have put the wind back in his sails once again, though. Their men's doubles triumph, a maiden grand slam title for them both, was must-watch entertainment each day they stepped out onto the court at Melbourne Park.

The best in Kyrgios was brought out, as his showman antics were lapped up by fans. The momentum seems to have carried over into his singles tennis where he is regaining some top form once again. Most importantly, too, he seems to be enjoying himself more along the way.

In California at Indian Wells he has thrilled crowds in advancing to the quarter-finals without dropping a set or serve during the tournament - though his last match was courtesy of opponent Jannik Sinner's withdrawal.

On Friday morning Australian time, Kyrgios will next take on world No.4 Rafael Nadal. It's the pair's first showdown in over two years.

In that encounter at the 2020 Australian Open Kyrgios pushed Nadal to four sets in a round-of-16 defeat, but in their head-to-head record overall, the Aussie has claimed victory in three of their eight meetings - in 2019, 2017 and in a memorable 2014 upset at Wimbledon.

On hardcourts - the surface at Indian Wells - the duo have won two matches apiece.

"I'll back him," Dellacqua said of Kyrgios's chances against the 35-year-old Spaniard.

"With Nick it doesn't matter who he plays, he's always got a great chance. He's playing some wonderful tennis right now.

"It really does give you confidence, and you can't beat that winning feeling, really. I'm absolutely thrilled for Nick. We all know how talented he is, but it seems like he's in a great place.

"He's found his passion on the court, and I think that's reflected in the results that he's having."

Dellacqua said it was no accident Kyrgios had reignited his career after his doubles success with Kokkinakis, and regardless of how he fared against Nadal, there was still "some great success left".

"He's put himself out there on the doubles court with a friend, someone that he enjoys playing with, and I think that speaks to what I love about the game," she said.

"The fact that you find a friend, you get out on court, you be supportive and good things can happen.

"There's not really much that surprised me in the way they went out and won that Australian Open title because combined they both possess great doubles qualities."

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