Prior to becoming the latest boy to conquer all before him at Wimbledon’s Junior Championships, Mili Poljicak practised with Novak Djokovic who urged the Croatian to channel his Balkan mentality.

A few hours later, Poljicak became the first Croatian player to be crowned a Junior Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon after holding his nerve during two closely-fought sets and dispatching Michael Zheng of the United States 7-6 (2) 7-6(3).

It proved an early birthday present for Poljicak, who turns 18 on Wednesday, and a key moment for someone whose previous best Junior Grand Slam performance was reaching the quarter-finals here 12 months ago.

“It sounds great to be a Wimbledon champion,” Poljicak told itftennis.com. “It’s a great feeling. Everybody dreams of a moment like this, winning a Junior Grand Slam, when they start playing tennis. This is a big achievement for me.

“The moment of victory was amazing. For many years, I have worked for this, and this is a big moment. It is also a great feeling to be the first Croatian to win here. I’m proud of myself because there have been a lot of big names in Croatian tennis throughout the years.

“However, I don’t think I’m going to stay as the only one, I believe that some other Croatian guys will come and do what I did, and Croatian tennis will go up in the years ahead.”

As it turned out, Court No. 10 played host to two of the game’s most-recent Grand Slam champions this morning as Poljicak stepped out on the grass with Djokovic.

Later in the day, Djokovic followed Poljicak's lead and proceeded to claim his 21st Grand Slam title by overcoming Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. For Poljicak, time on court with one of the sport's all-time greats provided additional motivation.

“I have been working for years to even play Grand Slams, and I was able to practice with one of the best of all time to warm up before my final – and to warm him up before his,” said Poljicak.

“It was a great feeling and a great memory. It helped me because when you play against one of the best of all time, then step on the court against a junior, you feel more comfortable. It helped me a lot and I’m very thankful.

“He told me to be calm, to concentrate and play every point. He said he believed I would win. He said we both have a Balkan mentality.”

It was far from plain sailing for the 17-year-old, however, as Zheng pushed him all the way. Following his semi-final triumph over Spain’s Martin Landaluce, Zheng suggested that if somebody had said a week ago that he would be contesting the final, he would have thought they were “talking rubbish”.

Despite his win, Poljicak, who succumbed to Zheng during a second-round showdown at last month’s Roland Garros Junior Championships, knew he had faced a worthy opponent, but simply the necessary tools on the day to prevail.

“This wasn’t even close to the match we played at Roland Garros,” added Poljicak. “There, I won the first set and was playing good before completely disappearing from court. He started to play better and better and was the better player in the second and third sets.

“Here, from the first point, I was the better player. I still made some easy mistakes at the beginning that gave him a break, then he was 5-3 and serving at 40-15. I managed to play three or four good points to get back into the set and that was the deciding moment.

“The second set, he also broke me first, but I was calm. I played every point and I think I was the better player. The result says so.”

Zheng has more than played his part in an enormously entertaining and spellbinding Junior Championships, with him citing his last-four victory over Landaluce as the best of his career. He can depart these shores with his head held high.

“On the whole, I am happy," said Zheng. "It is so tough to lose in the final, but it has been a great week. I never thought I would get to the final, especially after losing in the third round at J1 Roehampton – I wasn’t feeling the grass at all. I was so happy to get this far.”