Those of you of a certain age may remember the bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which had little to do with the teachings of Zen and not much to do with mending motorbikes, either. But it did deal with the concept of “quality” – what it is and what defines it.

This brings us, in a round about sort of way, to the duel on No.1 Court between Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek world No.5 and one of the game’s great thinkers, and Jordan Thompson, Australia’s world No.76 and the proud wearer of the locker room’s best moustache.

The facial adornment could best – and most politely – be described as a “Viva Zapata” tash. My mother (who is no fan of moustaches) would call it a “dead mouse”. Take your pick but, either way, Thompson is easy to spot.

With his tash, designer stubble and tattooed arm (he sports Australia's coat of arms and the Olympic rings on his right bicep), he is the all-Australian sportsman. He has spent a lifetime grafting his way around the circuit but, as yet, he has no titles to his name; he is yet to reach a final. But still he keeps trying.

This, then, was Zen versus the art of tennis career maintenance. And Zen won 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

“I have to say, it was a great match today,” a very happy Tsitsipas said. “I’m really happy I got the crowd involved and had them by my side. I’m not a Brit but I really felt the love of the crowd and that pushed me to the limit.

“I’m feeling at home playing on grass, I’m feeling that it really suits my game. I’m happy when I see myself play that level of tennis like today. As long as everything works, I’m happy to keep putting the commitment and see where that leads me.”

Tsitsipas likes to think of himself as a bit of a philosopher. He had a wide range of interests and is wont to offer his thoughts on anything and everything on social media.

His views on grass court tennis are somewhat contradictory, though. He has always said he loves the green stuff and that Wimbledon is his favourite tournament but the highlight of his results here is one fourth round appearance in 2018.

Last year, he was blown away in the opening round by Frances Tiafoe although we might draw a veil over that one. He was still smarting from losing a two-set lead over Novak Djokovic in the Roland-Garros final and his extremely active mind was elsewhere.

This time around, he has come with a new view of life. He won the title in Mallorca last week and as soon as he set eyes on the pristine courts of SW19, his already cheery mood brightened even more. Even the thought that there were no ranking points on offer could not put a dampener on the moment.

“It's pure, clean tennis,” he said a couple of days ago. “I haven't had the privilege of starting Wimbledon with a title before. That gives me a lot of confidence on having a strong start this year.

“Points or no points, I approach it, I try and approach it the same way. I'm playing for just the idea that Wimbledon has to offer.”

What it had to offer was a place in the third round against Nick Kyrgios after his bigger, stronger game brushed past Thompson in two hours and four minutes. It wasn’t always easy – he was a break down in the second set – but overall, it was a very good day’s work. 

In theory, Tsitsipas is made for grass. He is 6ft 4in tall and his shoulders look to be 6ft 4in wide. He has a big serve, a blistering forehand and he loves to come forward. Part philosopher, part artist, he loves to express himself on court.

All in all, it was too much for Thompson. He did what he could but every time he got a toehold in a game, Tsitsipas would blast another winner past him. When his frustrations bubbled over in the second set – a long and heated discussion with the umpire at a change of ends – Tsitsipas remained calm. Zen-like, in fact. And then the No.4 seed came out and wrapped up the set.

Thompson made a better fist of it in the third set: there was not a break point to be seen for the first 11 games. But he still could not find a way to put pressure on the Greek.

Finally, Thompson cracked and, serving to stay in the match, he found himself to be three match points down. He saved two of them but a forehand sailing over the baseline was his undoing on the third.

Meaning no disrespect to Thompson in any way shape or form, on Thursday the definition of quality was shown to be Tsitsipas, the Zen master himself.

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