Vasek Pospisil says he has regained his competitive drive, reflected in the improved play that has seen him qualify for Indian Wells and defeat top seed Andy Murray in the second round.
"I really found my hunger and my motivation to be back on the court training hard again," Pospisil told press following his win against Murray.
The 26-year-old Canadian dropped to No. 129 following a sub-par 2016.
"I don't really want to get into all of the details, but it was a very distracting year, a lot of stuff going on off the court," he said. "You know, that actually lasted for a very long time, almost the whole year, a long period of time. I learned a lot about myself.
"I think that's why I'm, you know, also now enjoying my time on the court so much more these days.
"I have been kind of stopping myself during matches and realizing how happy I am to even be competing and playing tennis."
Pospisil went 2-2 to begin the season, but is 11-2 since then, starting with two rousing wins in the Davis Cup against Great Britain. He also has a new coach, Mark Woodforde, a doubles legend who also had a solid singles career.
"But he was a very accomplished singles player, and I felt like he could, you know, help me kind of discover more about my game and how I want to play," said Pospisil. "He's been, you know, a great addition, and I'm very pleased with the progress that we have made so far."
Pospisil has reached a career-high of No. 25 in the rankings and will face another qualifier Dusan Lajovic in the third round.