Except for those who will participate in the World Tour Finals or the Davis Cup Final, the Masters Series 1000 event in Paris marks the last stop on the ATP World Tour for many of the game’s best players.

For many, Paris marks the end of their season and holds the weight of any other Masters Series 1000 tournament. Jerzy Janowicz is not one of these players.

Just under one year ago, the 6’8 Pole put himself on the map, defeating five top-20 players (Philipp Kohlschreiber, Marin Cilic, Andy Murray, Janko Tipsarevic, Gilles Simon) on his way to the final. Relatively unknown prior to his breakthrough in Paris, Janowicz electrified the scene with his vaporizing serve, soft touch, uncanny movement and authoritative groundstrokes.

Janowicz, who started that week ranked No. 69 in the world, skyrocketed all the way to No. 26 in the year-end rankings. 

The 2012 Paris Masters certainly left Janowicz with lots of fond memories but it also left him with lots of points to defend—600 of them, to be exact. And, with the draw out, Janowicz has been done absolutely no favors. Just to reach the final, he most likely would have to find his way through Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Richard Gasquet, and then David Ferrer or Tomas Berdych.

On the bright side for Janowicz, he has shown much better form since the US Open. There, he lost in the first round to Maximo Gonzalez, a player who had won only two hard-court matches at the ATP level in his career. Without discrediting Gonzalez’s fine performance in the match, Janowicz was dealing with significant back problems in New York.

After skipping Davis Cup to regroup, Janowicz played in Stockholm, where he lost to Ernests Gulbis in three sets, and in Valencia last week, where he stretched last year’s Paris Masters champion, David Ferrer, to a third set.

The hype around Janowicz following his efforts in Paris last year was understandably high, and the Pole responded with a respectable 2013. Despite not being as consistent as he could have been, making only four quarterfinals this year, Janowicz launched a semifinal run at Wimbledon that made up for his vast periods of mediocrity. 

The rise that the Pole has made in the last two years has been astronomical. At the beginning of 2012, Janowicz was unable to travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open qualifying tournament because his budget would not allow it. In 2013 alone, by contrast, he has amassed an astounding $1.3 million in prize money. With the financial worries gone, Janowicz is now able to focus on a new challenge—beating the best players in the world on a consistent basis.

While it is simple for Janowicz to be viewed as a threat largely because of his power, Janowicz’s variety and versatility separate him from most of the other heavy hitters on tour. Another strength of his lies in his fearlessness. It is evident in Janowicz’s on-court demeanor that he is afraid of nobody. He brings the same intensity and passion to every single match. In addition, regardless of whom he faces, he will not hold back in terms of strategy. No opponent can cause this bold 22-year-old to compromise his style of play.

Janowicz will undoubtedly be especially motivated to produce his best performance in Paris this week. Fans should sit back and enjoy, and opponents must beware.