Three dozen years is a long time in any sphere of life, not just sport. Yet, on a scorching Wednesday morning last week, on the most famous lawns in the world, it took just 52 minutes for Arnav Paparkar to script a chapter in Indian tennis history.

With a clinical 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Japan’s Ryo Tabata in the boys’ round of 16, the 18-year-old stormed into the Wimbledon quarterfinals and became the first Indian since the legendary Leander Paes in 1990 to achieve the feat. For Indian tennis, the long wait was finally over.

In a virtual interaction with The Hindu, Arnav revealed that meticulous preparation did the trick. “I trained on grass in Spain for two weeks before Wimbledon and also played a tournament in Roehampton. I was comfortable with the way I moved, served and returned… I didn’t miss too many returns,” Arnav said.

The confidence also stemmed from the lessons learnt during the course of the year. “I was a bit nervous because the Australian Open was my first Grand Slam. There were so many people watching. By the time French Open arrived, I wasn’t thinking about the crowd anymore. I just played my natural game,” said the Pune teenager, who idolises Roger Federer and football icon Cristiano Ronaldo.

Arnav’s self-belief came to the fore at The Championships. He brushed aside British wildcard Joshua Craze before causing a flutter by taking out third seed Keaton Hance. He then went on to avenge the two losses against Tabata in their earlier meetings.

“I knew playing the third seed was going to be tough, but wasn’t impossible. My serve clicked, and I handled the pressure well. Only after the match did it sink in that I had beaten a higher-ranked player,” Arnav recalled.

Behind the teenager’s rise lies the unwavering support of his family.

nnis“My mother is a doctor, but she closed her clinic as she had to travel with me regularly. My elder brother sacrificed a lot because he often stayed home alone while my parents travelled for tournaments. Everyone in my family has sacrificed in some way or the other. I want to do something special for them one day”.

In recent times, the most prominent Italian understudy to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has been Lorenzo Musetti.

He has made the quarterfinals or better at all four Slams, been in the ATP top-10 for a good part of the last 14 months, and even climbed up to a career-high ranking of No. 5 ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Over the past few months, however, Flavio Cobolli has usurped that understudy spot. Ranked outside the top-20 at the start of the season, the 24-year-old broke into the top-10 on the back of a stirring run to the recent French Open final.

On Monday, with a straight-sets victory over fifth seed Alex de Minaur, he made his second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal. He will meet British wild card Arthur Fery, who ended Grigor Dimitrov’s stay by clinching a nerve-wracking five-setter.

“I played one of my best matches ever, especially on this surface, which is always tough,” said Cobolli. “I found a way to a high level for the whole match and it was really impressive,” added the World No. 10.

Encouragingly, the wholesome performance came after quite a few back-to-the-wall efforts. Cobolli recovered from a first set bagel (6-0) to scrape through in five sets against the big-serving Karen Khachanov in the previous round; of the 12 sets he has won, six have been tense tie-breaks.

What should also hold him in good stead is his powerful game. Cobolli belongs to the group of players who literally bludgeon the ball, with Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Tomas Machac the other prominent members. When combined with a capable serve, it can prove devastating.

Movement and foot dexterity are allies too. After all, Cobolli spent five years at the famed football academy of AS Roma before switching full-time to the racquet sport. Recently in Paris, he did an entire lap of Court Philippe-Chatrier while juggling a tennis ball.

After the win against de Minaur, much to the delight of the Court No. 1 audience, he even re-created Cristiano Ronaldo’s famed mid-air twirl celebration.

The skills are there. The crowd has been charmed. Will silverware follow?