At times it was hard and painful for Andrey Kuznetsov, who had to spend four months out of the sport due to health problems and no guarantee of ever getting back to his best. Thankfully, he worked through it and went on to claim his first major success.

“Of course, I was very nervous before the final match as I realized I was just a step away from the most important victory in my life. But I managed to handle that pressure and feel cool about it. Though I still can’t believe I won the trophy,” Andrey said.

Some observers say he has a lot in common with Roger Federer who – just on the court next to Kuznetsov – won his record sixth Wimbledon and 15th Grand Slam title.

“I don't want to compare myself with anybody. Most of all I like Roger Federer and I try to learn a lot from him. But I’m not going to become the second Federer. I want to be known as the one and only Andrey Kuznetsov,” he said.

This plan could come true due to a rare feature of Andrey’s game – the young Russian is equally good on any surface.

“I’d like him to become a universal player. He grew up on clay and achieved high results on this surface, he won Wimbledon and proved he feels great on lawn as well. So I hope he’ll keep becoming a better and better player with no regard to the surface he performs on,” Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Andrey’s father and coach, said.

Following his first triumph the Russian rising star is hoping to get a wild card for the next Grand Slam tournament the US Open.

After all he has achieved as a junior, it is time to see if he can mix it up with the men.