A fortnight after Rafael Nadal landed a record-breaking seventh French Open crown his great rival Roger Federer is eyeing seventh heaven at Wimbledon.
Nadal and Federer will both arrive at the All England Club with high hopes of not only dethroning reigning champion Novak Djokovic, but also wrestling the world No.1 ranking from the Serbian star.
The three-way rankings battle is an intriguing sub-plot in what shapes as one of the most exciting men’s championships in years.
For Federer, the prospect is extra tantalising. He has an opportunity to achieve the one major milestone still eluding him.
With his 31st birthday looming in August, a 17th grand slam title – two-and-a-half years after his 16th came at the 2010 Australian Open – would surely be the crowning glory of his wonderful career.
A seventh title on beloved London grass would equal Pete Sampras’s modern-day record haul and, if Djokovic fails to make the final, also draw the Swiss maestro level with Sampras as the all-time record holder for most weeks as world No.1.
This is Federer’s final frontier.
He topped the rankings for 285 weeks in total between 2004 and 2010, one week less than Sampras’s reign over 10 stints as king from 1993 until September 2000.
But reaching the summit for a third time when Nadal and Djokovic – five and six years Federer’s junior – are at the peak of their powers would emphatically underline the Artful Roger’s status as the greatest player in tennis history.
So much easier said than done.
Federer has closed in on the top ranking with four titles in 2012, equal to Nadal’s tally this season, but has come off second best in nine of his past 10 grand slam meetings with his two heavyweight rivals.
Nadal stopped him in the Australian Open semi-finals and Djokovic denied him at the same penultimate stage at Roland Garros.
Nadal and Djokovic clearly hold a mental edge, but no place inspires Federer more than the spiritual home of tennis.
Djokovic and Nadal have their own powerful motivations to succeed.
The 25-year-old Serb, who must make the final to be guaranteed of retaining the top ranking, is bidding to join Federer and Sampras as only the third man to successfully defend his Wimbledon crown in a quarter of a century.
Nadal, at just 26, can edge past Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver into equal second place with Australian 1960s great Roy Emerson on the all-time grand slam leaderboard with 12 career majors.
Only Federer would be left to chase down for the Spaniard.
World No.4 Andy Murray, a three-times semi-finalist, is the only other player at single-figure odds with bookmakers to raise the men’s trophy on July 8.
To do so, though, the 25-year-old Scot would have to become the first British man to win a grand slam title since Fred Perry in 1936.
The pressures of trying to break one of world’s sport’s most infamous droughts have so far proven too much for Murray, just as they did for four-times semi-finalist Tim Henman.