Andy Murray's currently most regularly voiced assertions, that the US Open is the "coolest" Grand Slam tournament of all and that he feels a distinct affinity to the tennis-watching fraternity of New York, will undergo their sternest examination to date tonight.
The reception the second-seeded Scot can expect from a 25,000 capacity crowd at about 11pm, when he is last on court at Flushing Meadows' Arthur Ashe Stadium, may suggest American feeling for him can most accurately be gauged as chilly bordering on frigid. And with regard to kinship or empathy, Murray will struggle to find any semblance of support against an opponent whose story is the stuff of which American feel-good movies are made.
Taylor Dent personifies determination and an affirmation that things bordering on miracles can happen. While Murray has been advised that lifting the trophy a week today could guarantee an increase in his marketability in terms of endorsements to boost his income to at least £16m a year, before winning a penny of prize-money, he will be facing an opponent who would be happy not to be paid a cent because he is just so delighted at being competitive on a court again.
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Murray is under no illusions that this, his third meeting with Dent after winning the first two as a callow 18-year-old new to the ATP World Tour in 2005, will be a demanding New York experience. He has played an American on the Flushing Meadows cement before but his first-round win over Robbie Kendrick in 2006 was contested on an outside court and he was relatively anonymous outside of Britain. His two other high-profile matches in the tournament have seen him fill the role of underdog, against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer last year.
Now he will be unquestionably the enemy. Dent will not walk on to court waving Star-Spangled Banners but patriotism is bound to play its part and Murray maintains he is ready. "It doesn't really bother me," the Scot insisted. "He's had a tough time and it's obviously great that he's doing well again, but I've got to take care of business. The difference is that when I played him before, he was expected to win and obviously now I'm the one that's got the pressure on me."
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Two years ago, after undergoing the second of two operations on the base of his spine, Dent was told he would never play tennis again. In fact, regardless of the fact he once delivered the fourth fastest serve in tennis history while almost attaining a place in the world's top 20, he would be fortunate to convalesce sufficiently to even walk properly.
It is easy to comprehend why Dent was so overcome with delight after winning a five-set marathon to secure his third-round place against Murray that he scaled the umpire's chair, commandeered the microphone and used it to issue a vote of thanks to all the spectators who willed him to victory against Spain's Ivan Navarro. "The crowd just never stopped," Dent enthused. "They were just with me the whole time. Emotions just boil over here. The US Open is such a unique experience for a tennis player."
For almost a year the player who had gathered four ATP World Tour titles was forced to spend 23 hours a day in bed, encased in a body caste so his vertebra was effectively immobilised to allow it to heal after fusion surgery. Rehabilitation was a lengthy experience and Dent was effectively off the tennis tour for three years but finally a doctor gave him the all-clear to try hitting a few balls. Although he contested both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, his world ranking stands at 195 and he required the charity of a wild-card entry from the United States Tennis Association to compete this week.
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After overcoming Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Navarro - attacking players who favour serve and volley tactics similar to Dent - he knows Murray's baseline precision and all-court awareness will be far tougher to combat. "Andy is one of the best counterpunchers the game has seen so it would be silly for me to stay back and out-rally him," said Dent.
Roger Federer's campaign to add a sixth successive US Open title to the French Open and Wimbledon crowns he won this summer took a step forward as he registered his 14th win in a row over Lleyton Hewitt in an unconvincing 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 win. Federer's touch regularly deserted him against the 28-year-old Australian.
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Fourth seed Novak Djokovic, the beaten finalist two years ago, was forced to endure a torrid encounter with the qualifier Jesse Witten. First Djokovic's frustration saw him smash a racket on the court, then his anxiety saw him lose his grip while serving and the replacement flew across the net after the ball. He won 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-4.