​Punctuality would appear to be important to Mees Rottgering. He arrived for his post-match interview today before the allotted time while he has seemingly timed his charge towards the Wimbledon boys’ title to perfection.

So prompt to press was Rottgering that he was still mopping sweat from his brow following a hard-fought but ultimately successful semi-final showdown with France’s Theo Papamalamis.

Rottgering’s 6-4 7-5 triumph propelled the 17-year-old Dutchman to the boys’ final where he will draw swords with Norways’ Nicolai Budkov Kjaer as the duo battle for Junior Grand Slam silverware.

Should Rottgering prevail, he would become just the second Dutch player to win a Junior Grand Slam boys’ title at Wimbledon following Thiemo de Bakker’s victory in 2006.

Sjeng Schalken won the US Open boys’ title in 1994, while three Dutch girls – Brenda Schultz-McCarthy at Wimbledon in 1988, Michaella Krajicek at the 2004 US Open and Arantxa Rus at the 2008 Australian Open – have also claimed Junior Grand Slam titles.

But nearly two decades have passed since the last Dutch boy conquered all before him at Wimbledon, and while Rottgering was still trying to make sense of his semi-final heroics he did appreciate the scale of his achievement.

“I honestly don’t know what is happening,” he told itftennis.com. “I didn’t play well. I don’t know how I managed it but I am in a Wimbledon final. It’s crazy.

“I started amazingly, really good – 4-0 up. I started like I could only dream about, but then lost a bit of focus and after that my level dropped. Somehow I managed to win the first set 6-4.

“I started playing well in the second set and was a break of serve up. But then he started playing really well and was better the whole set. I saved set points, and I was so focused I cannot remember winning. I was just so in the zone.

“But then I was so high after match point. I have just been checking my phone and I have a lot of congratulatory messages. It could end up being a really dreamy week.”

Standing in the way of Rottgering and a shiny new trophy is junior world No. 4 Budkov Kjaer, another player with the hand of history firmly on his shoulder. Budkov Kjaer defeated Japan's Naoya Honda in the other semi-final. 

The 17-year-old is bidding to become the first Norwegian player to win a Grand Slam singles title in any discipline, whether that be within juniors or the professional ranks.

The duo have only met once before, in the semi-finals of J300 Charleroi-Marcinelle last year, in a match which Rottgering claimed in three sets.

“I have played Nicolai once before,” added Rottgering, who is currently ranked No. 28 in the ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings. “He is serving really well and has a good backhand.

“I started this week playing really badly and didn’t find my level at all. But the last three matches I have taken a lot of confidence from the way I have been playing. It will be tough to play against Nicolai, but I have a chance."

Opportunity most certainly knocks.

A full list of results from the 2024 Junior Championships, Wimbledon is available here.