In the Quad Wheelchair singles final on Sunday, Dutchman Niels Vink will play his countryman, good friend and oft-rival Sam Schroder for what Schroder estimates will be about the 37th time.
It will in fact be the 39th time the pair have met on court in singles.
These two clearly know each other well, but are they sick of the sight of each other across the net?
“No, it’s nice - it's good for Dutch tennis,” Vink said after he beat Turkey’s Ahmed Kaplan 6-1, 6-0 in his semi-final, and Schroder knocked out British wild card Gregory Slade.
“We have a (world) No.1 and No.2, and we have played so many finals against each other,” Vink added. “And also, the thing is, we are both so different.”
“Maybe I have a better haircut!" Vink quipped. “We were recently in Turkey for the World Team Cup and went to the hairdresser together – Sam got his head shaved, I got blonde tips.”
But of course it’s about more than hair, as Vink explained. “Because I'm right (handed), and he's left-handed, we have completely different styles of play. (And) I'm more emotional and Sam is more quiet.”
Schroder says there's nothing the two don't know about each other. “I will play against him the way I play against everyone,” he said. “I’ll be very aggressive, try to hit the ball after one bounce and put pressure on him.”
I see Ahmed (Kaplan) – he’s my opponent – I don’t care that he’s taped or he’s missing a finger or missing legs, like me.
Vink has thrived since he started playing Wheelchair tennis at the age of 10, thanks to an open day set up by the Cruyff Foundation, which the great Dutch footballer Johan founded in 1997.
He is now an ambassador for the foundation, and says he is proud to inspire children of all ages and abilities to play sport.
“Not everyone who goes there is going to be a professional athlete, I’m one of the lucky ones,” Vink said. “I went to the open day in Barcelona and I see so many kids smiling, and you feel when you’re there that they don’t see a disability - and that's how I am as well.
“I see Ahmed – he’s my opponent – I don’t care that he’s taped or he’s missing a finger or missing legs, like me.”
Professional tennis has brought Vink many new experiences. After Wimbledon, he’s back to Turkey for a quick holiday and then the US Open Series ramps up. He will prepare in Barcelona. Once he’s finished in New York he plans to play a tournament in Sardinia and then the Super Series in France before heading to China for the Masters.
He still lives at home with his parents in Helmond in the south of the Netherlands, but has what he calls a ‘man cave’, a room he has made his own, which includes a mini replica of the Barcelona Football Stadium.
“I watch Barca everywhere I go", he said. He's been to the Camp Nou as well as the Olympic Stadium, where the Spanish club are playing currently due to stadium renovations.
We walked to the locker room and although everyone was trying to capture his attention, he just kept talking to me.
His favourite player? “Neymar is one of my favourites, but he was only there for a few years,” Vink said. “Now Raphinha and Lamine Yamal and I like Pedri. Also, Ronaldinho – he was the first one I watched from when I was born – I have a memory of him. I was born in 2002 and he played from 2003 to 2008.”
Vink is also a huge Rafa Nadal fan, so much so that as a junior he had a pink Nadal T-shirt that he said he wanted to wear for every match.
And it was here at Wimbledon that he met his idol for the first time. They say that you should never meet your heroes; Vink doesn’t agree.
"In my first year here, I met him at the old entrance," Vink recalled. "He was in the car in front of me. We went through security – they have to check your bags - and we started talking. The funny thing was he was only asking about me. We walked to the locker room and although everyone was trying to capture his attention, he just kept talking to me.”
Perhaps Vink will get a phone call from the Spaniard if he manages to win the Wimbledon Quad Singles title for a third year in a row.