Aleksandar Kovacevic has a pretty useful ally.
Following his maiden clay campaign, the 24-year-old American is adapting to his first grass court stint.
And it seems to be clicking into gear. Kovacevic booked a Wimbledon Qualifying third round ticket courtesy of a 7-6(5), 6-4 triumph over Jesper De Jong on Wednesday.
Rewind a month and the New Yorker was on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris, taking on eventual Roland-Garros champion Novak Djokovic.
"It was bitter sweet. It might sound crazy saying this but every time I go on the court I believe I can win. It's hard to believe that, against probably the greatest player of all time," Kovacevic said of defeat by the now 23-time Grand Slam champion.
"My first clay court season, one of my first ever matches was on that court, it was pretty cool, almost surreal."
Kovacevic took the opportunity to quiz the Serbian in the locker room.
"He's a legend, we practised together two years ago, I'm good friends with him too," the Illinois University alumnus said.
"I tried to pick his brain, as I'm sure a lot of people do, so I didn’t want to push too much. I asked for tips on nutrition, he's shown me some supplements he takes, just general talk about training.
"He's always very gracious. He wasn't any different before or after the match, just super cool with me. I've spoken to him a lot in the past, he's very helpful. Nothing but praise for him."
Kovacevic's defeat in Paris followed four losses in four clay court tournaments, and in the lead-up to the Wimbledon Qualifying tournament in Roehampton, the American lost three successive opening round contests on grass.
That sort of form is tough to take for any athlete. A left hip injury derailed his early-season momentum and he's had to do a lot of soul searching to bounce back.
"I picked a good time to start winning," he said.
"I've had a pretty rough last couple months. It's hard. This sport gets you down. You have some of the highest highs, some of the lowest lows and it's sometimes hard to pull yourself out of a rut.
"It's a lonely sport, you don’t have your teammates to pick you up. Your coach can only do so much, you've got to drag yourself out of those pits. I'm learning to do that and this is my second year on the pro Tour, my first time on a big European trip, against a bunch of new guys.
"Injuries, new surfaces – it's all been a learning experience. This week I'm back on the right track, so this is huge for me."
Kovacevic recalls watching Roger Federer's dramatic Wimbledon 2009 final victory over Andy Roddick, and Djokovic's match point-saving heroics over Federer in the 2019 decider. He wants his own SW19 storyline.
"People tell me the main site, the actual Club, is a real step up from here, but it's beautiful, very proper, very classy, my kind of thing here. I really like it," the world No.120 said.
"To qualify for a Grand Slam is something special. It's a dream, especially here at Wimbledon. I really want to trade in my badge for a main draw one."
