Lleyton Hewitt is among the Australian players to have conquered Wimbledon, having done so in 2002.
Australian men have a superb history at Wimbledon, with Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Pat Cash also among the former champions from the nation.
Pat Rafter meanwhile burst onto the scene at the turn of the 21st century, but he could only lose back-to-back finals.
Rafter lost to Pete Sampras in 2000, and suffered the same fate against Goran Ivanisevic the following year.
Pat Rafter motivated Lleyton Hewitt before his 2002 Wimbledon final
Fortunately, Hewitt was on hand to avenge Rafter just one year later, beating David Nalbandian in the 2002 Wimbledon final.
He was asked the question in his press conference afterwards: “What is Patrick Rafter going to think after you made it look so easy?”
Hewitt, who beat Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, replied: “I don’t know. Hopefully he comes back. But obviously Pat, he played extremely well the last two years here. To make two finals is an unbelievable effort.
“Look at the matches that he lost. I think he was a point away from probably beating Sampras. I think he had set points in the second set tiebreak to go two sets to Love up.
“Then Goran, I think he was two points away from breaking Goran to win the championship. So he’s come so close.
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“You know, for me to come here and win this tournament, it means a lot. You know, he called me again this morning to wish me all the best, ‘Go out there and do it for Australia’.
“You know, it’s a great thing to have that positive… a guy who I’ve looked up to for so many years, been in awe of, for him to go out of his way to give me a call the last couple of days.”
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Rafter’s message clearly meant a lot to Hewitt, who had beaten Sampras in the 2001 US Open final for his maiden Grand Slam title on the ATP Tour.
The year before that, the Australian ace won the US Open doubles title with Max Mirnyi, and lost the Wimbledon mixed doubles final with Kim Clijsters.
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More heartbreak followed his stunning Wimbledon singles success in 2002, with Hewitt losing two more Grand Slam finals.
He was beaten by Roger Federer at the 2004 US Open, and lost the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin.
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