Love him or loathe him, John Tomic's methods are starting to pay big dividends for Australian tennis.
Bernard Tomic was a revelation at Wimbledon, his surge to the quarter-finals at age 18 providing welcome evidence the nation has a grand slam champion in the making.
But the elephant in the room for every step of the teenager's run at the All England Club was his father.
Tomic senior has proved a polarising figure throughout his son's rise through the sport, butting heads with officialdom and regularly attracting controversy.
Behind the scenes, he's been talked about as everything from overbearing to a Machiavellian figure.
Such has been his penchant for generating headlines that his ability to coach his son a fair brand of tennis has tended to be overlooked.
One person who knows him well, 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, says Tomic the elder is a misunderstood figure.
"He keeps everything under control," Ivanisevic told AAP.
"He is more in front of Bernard, saying hit me (and not Bernard).
"People don't appreciate that. They don't understand but they have to understand that it is his son and he has done a great job.
"He is a great character.
"Some people maybe not (like him) but he is different and people, they don't like different."
However it is a fine line John Tomic walks between being protective and just distrustful.
Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter has taken a softly, softly approach in his dealings with him.
The two-time Wimbledon finalist was warmly welcomed into the youngster's set-up at Wimbledon but Rafter openly admitted he couldn't afford to go rocking the boat.
"He has done a great job and at this stage of Bernard's career, the father is actually very important and he looks to his father," he said.
"There might come a time when he does not want him there and John will listen to that.
"But right now I need the father there helping me too."
Not that John Tomic is ready to forget the critics who have suggested his guidance was hindering his son's progress.
"Some people have said he can never be top 50, he already is (on his way)," said Tomic.
"Some people from Australia who understand from my opinion, very little.
"One side is jealousy. One side is honesty."
For all of his tough exterior, Tomic senior is far from a megalomaniac.
He has employed Ivanisevic's former coach Mario Tudor and trainer Josko Silic to work with his son and is more than happy to take a back seat at training sessions.
Bernard says in the next one to four years his father will step off the professional tour.
There is the development of his talented 13-year-old younger sister Sarah to consider with big things predicted from her down the track.
John Tomic felt that he was starting to mould the perfect team for his son's needs.
"Still everyone, even old people still can learn every day," he said.
"Lots of reading, lots of picking up from watching, that is part of this business you have to see and have lots of flexibility.
"You just have to be honest and do the best for your kids.
"No one is perfect but you have to just be honest."
But whatever you make of the father, his son has developed an impressive understanding of the game under his direction.
Triple Wimbledon champions Boris Becker and John Newcombe rave about his performances at Wimbledon.
"He reads the game very well and you can see that he enjoys structuring his points out there and not just hitting the tennis ball," said Newcombe.
Rafter described the youngster as "tough in the head".
"He knows how to find a way," he said.
"He reads the play and he knows where to go.
"He has a real natural feel for the game."
Ivanisevic thinks Tomic has the smarts of a seasoned professional.
"He is so young and he understands the game unbelievably," he said.
"He is 18, if you see how he reads the game, how he understands and how he plays the game it is no different to a 30-year-old guy."
"It is really unbelievable."
There is one other key ingredient to Tomic's game.
He has a confidence bordering on arrogance, he fully expects to fulfil his burning ambition to become the world No.1 and a multiple grand slam winner.
"The good players tend to have that attitude and it annoys people and drives them nuts," said Tennis Australia's head of professional tennis, Todd Woodbridge.
"It is polite disrespect if you like."
