Step on the grass

The slick grass, especially early on, is known to trip up even the most experienced of players. That's the catch. Most of the younger players don't have enough mileage on the lawns

- Deepti Patwardhan

The first strokes of Novak Djokovic's tennis dream were painted green, Wimbledon green. Growing up a world away, in war-torn Serbia, he first glimpsed the sport's big league through television. 1993. Pete Sampras vs Jim Courier.

"My parents ran a pizzeria," Djokovic told the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera during the Italian Open earlier this year. "Just opposite they built the tennis courts. I was six. There was no place for me on the courts, and from behind the fence, I watched the other children play. Then I turned on the TV looking for a tennis match, and there was the Wimbledon final: Sampras beat Courier. The next morning Jelena (Genčić) came up and asked me: 'Good morning little boy, do you know what tennis is?' I replied: 'Yes, yesterday I watched the Wimbledon final!' And she said: 'Do you want to try it?""

With the majesty of Sampras still fresh in his mind, Djokovic picked up the racket. "Pistol Pete" became his first hero; Wimbledon, his ultimate prize. His first coach, Genčić, had engineered a career as successful as Monica Seles' before that. But little did she know that she had set in motion one of the greatest success stories in tennis.

Thirty years later, Djokovic stands on the cusp of becoming the most decorated Grand Slammer and the most successful man at Wimbledon. The Serb, who will have the honour of opening the Centre Court for Wimbledon 2023 on 3 July, currently has 23 Grand Slam titles in singles-level with the retired Serena Williams for an Open Era (post-1968) record and just one short of Margaret Court for the all-time record. If he wins, Djokovic will have eight Wimbledon titles one more than Sampras, as many as Roger Federer. The Serb, who is on a 28-match unbeaten streak at the major currently, can also join the elite club of Federer and Björn Borg as the only male players to win five successive Wimbledon titles in the Open Era.