The story picks up on the fifth day of the 2009 Australian Open, where the tennis stars of the world had collected for the first leg of the tennis Grand Slam. The event down under had made its way to the third round, and all the big names — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick — had punched their tickets to the round of 32.

But one name stood out from the rest — Amer Delic.

A Bosnian-born, American-raised tennis player out of the University of Illinois, the No. 220-ranked Delic outlasted the No. 29 player in the world, Paul-Henri Mathieu, to get into the field of 32 and was now playing in the biggest match of his career.

Waiting for him on the other side of the net was Djokovic, the third-ranked player in the world and defending Australian Open champion. Delic was matched up against Djokovic — a Serbian with whom Delic was familiar.

In a grueling three-hour match, Delic battled harder than either of Djokovic’s previous two competitors had, pushing the match to four sets, including a tiebreaker in the final set. Though Delic ultimately lost the match, the damage had already been done. The eyes of the tennis world had been opened up to a new talent; Delic belonged.

“It’s one of the biggest events in tennis,” Delic said. “I’ve played in big arenas, but playing in Australia with the whole world watching was a lot of fun. Definitely with both of our backgrounds, it was a very intriguing matchup.”

With several other tournament titles under his belt, the professional success Delic has enjoyed isn’t so much of a surprise as how long it’s taken him to taste it — especially considering how easy he made it look while at Illinois.

Characterized by former coach Craig Tiley as a solid all-around player with a dominating serve and rare speed for someone of his size, the 6-foot-5 Delic steadily climbed his way to the pinnacle of college tennis, taking an established powerhouse in Illinois along for the ride.

In his three seasons (2000-2003), Delic earned All-American honors every year and finished with career records of 92-33 in singles play and 89-31 in doubles.

He showcased his doubles play early on while playing with partner Graydon Oliver, reaching the No. 1 ranking for the first time in the program’s history and capping off his first season with the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.

He developed a stronger singles game the following season to add to his repertoire. Finishing the season ranked 12th in singles nationally, Delic reached the Sweet 16 and earned All-Big Ten honors for the first time — achievements that stuck to the plan in place.

“We had team goals and individual goals alongside a detailed plan for every player every year,” Tiley said. “Without planning, goals and constant review, we would not have achieved the success we had. Our teams trained and competed with discipline and a world-class attitude.”

In Delic’s final season, that plan finally paid off as the world-class attitude that had been instilled since day one now had the talent to back it up — on and off the court.

Delic was showered with All-American and Big-Ten honors again. He raked in the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year and ITA Player of the Year awards. He even hauled in Academic All-Big Ten and George Huff (excellence in academics and athletics) accolades, a tribute to the complete package of the person in addition to the player — a staple of all who came into Tiley’s program.

But they were all just by-products of the prize Delic had his eyes set on for that season, the summit of the plan — the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship.

In a 10-day span, Delic played some of the most dominating and consistent tennis of his career, Tiley recalled.

After helping propel Illinois to a team national title, Delic polished off the landmark season in Athens, Ga., with a straight-set win (6-4, 6-3) over second-ranked Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor University to become the singles champion.

The title was validation for the hard work and dedication put forth, of seeing “the big picture” as Delic put it.

But it was also proof of how significant and enduring an accomplishment the title has become.

That victory anointed Delic as Illinois’ first and only NCAA singles champion, capping off a season in which the Illini became only the fourth Division-I team to go undefeated (Georgia has since done it in 2007). It also left the lasting memory of Delic’s imprint on Illinois tennis.

“His performance was dominating,” Tiley recalled. “The team win had given him more confidence, and there was seldom a time we felt he would not win it. It made a believer out of Amer, and he used those 10 days of winning the team title and the individual title as a springboard to his professional success.”

Seven years later, despite that leap, some things haven’t changed.

These days, when the 27-year-old Delic isn’t busy completing a sports business management degree on campus, he can be found around the Atkins Tennis Center, rehabbing a knee injury that has sidelined him for the past six months.

“I’ve never been out of tennis for this long in my life,” Delic said.

“This is just a long and annoying process. I know in the long run it’s going to be helpful and allow me to play for four or five more years. I hope to be back playing … by March and be back to where I feel I belong.”

While the training and rehabilitation have gone a long way in helping Delic get back to competitive form, his time around the facilities has been just as beneficial to the current Illini squad — extending the close culture among the players that Delic was a part of during his tenure.

“He’s very diligent—living in our training facility,” current Illinois head coach Brad Dancer said. “He has daily interaction with our team. He’s a very positive influence as he’s a role model, number one, and a mentor. The fact that he’s back here is admirable.”

So while the tennis world awaits his return to action, Delic waits for his knee to catch up to the “world-class attitude” that’s ready to hit the court again.

After all, that 2009 Australian Open run might just be a warm up for the next “plan” that lies ahead.

“I know I am better than what shows on paper and know what it takes to get to the upper rankings, and if I’m healthy I know I can get there,” Delic said. “I know I am going to be back up there again.”