the quarter-final at Wimbledon was the end of the road for the Swiss, whose ailing right knee had not recovered well enough from multiple surgeries and would not allow him to continue playing at the top level.

During that match, Federer said later, he knew his knee “was gone” and that “it was over”. Just over a year later, he retired afterwas something he had dreamed of. It was a daunting experience but he rose to the occasion. “Definitely I was stressed beforehand,” Hurkacz says from Monte Carlo, where he lives.

“I was pretty confident in my game at that point, I knew I was playing some good tennis on grass at Wimbledon and especially after beating Daniil“It was stressful but I was also very excited. Growing up as a kid, I was always looking up to Roger, he was my idol. He won so many times at Wimbledon and having a chance to play with him there on this unique court, that was something I always wanted to do.”

Three years on, the 6ft 5in (1.96m) Pole is ranked a career-high No 7 and goes into this year’s Wimbledon as a live contender to reach a first grand slam final or even go one better. One of the few active players to have won titles on clay, grass and indoor and outdoor hard courts, he possesses one of the best serves in the game and his style is perfectly suited to the green stuff, even though he grew up playing indoors on clay, with no heating