That is the situation for Ben McLachlan as he takes the best form possible into this week’s Australian Open.
The Queenstown 26-year-old and partner Jan-Lennard Struff are seeded eighth in the men’s doubles.
They will play Malek Jaziri and Radu Albot in their opening game — either today or tomorrow depending on singles results.
McLachlan and Struff made the semifinals at the Grand Slam last year.
It was the first time they had paired and it marked something of a breakout for McLachlan.
An impressive year followed, most recently claiming the ASB Classic title in Auckland on Saturday.
While Japan has become his adopted country, McLachlan still calls Queenstown home and returns there every year.
He had spent the past month there as he prepared for Auckland, a tournament which had special significance.
‘‘It was awesome,’’ he said of the tournament.
‘‘It was a lot of fun playing at home, pretty much.
‘‘Mum and Dad came up and some family and friends. It was a lot of fun, great support.’’
On the way to winning, McLachlan and Struff knocked over Mate Pavic and Omar Marach in the semifinals.
Those two are the No 1 seeds in Melbourne and were the duo that knocked off McLachlan and Struff at last year’s event.
That leaves them filled with confidence.
‘‘It was actually a very tough draw.
‘‘So it was terrific preparation really, just to get a lot of close matches in against good teams.’’ McLachlan was feeling good and looking forward to beginning.
Melbourne Park offered comfort, bringing back some good memories.
‘‘I really like this venue.
‘‘The atmosphere’s great. It’s really hot, so I’ve been trying to stay inside as much as I can.
‘‘But it’ll be fun to get out on the match courts again.’’
The heat was typically something to navigate at this tournament and this year would be no different.
Yesterday’s temperature was 33degC and it was expected to be hot the whole way through.
That is significantly hotter than Auckland and even for someone who spends 10 months travelling the world playing, it rated up there in terms of heat.
‘‘I guess it’s not as big of an issue in the doubles as in the singles. With guys playing five sets, hydration is pretty massive.
‘‘But even so, in the doubles I try to drink a lot and stay in the shade as much as I can.
‘‘I would say this week is the hottest [of the year], but then New York during the US Open gets really hot and a bit more humid.’’
McLachlan is ranked 18th in the world, while Struff is 21st.
Struff is also ranked 51st in singles, although was beaten in his first round match on Monday by Australian Matthew Ebden.
