Martina Navratilova once famously said, "Wimbledon is like a drug. Once you win it for the first time you feel you've just got to do it again and again and again..."
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There were some players who tasted this drug only once in their respective careers. Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek and Conchita Martinez are cases in point. There were others who liked the taste so much that they came back to get a taste of it again and again, till they laid their hands on it. Examples in this category are Jana Novotna and Goran Ivanisevic.
And, then, there were some who wanted this drug badly, but it proved too expensive for them. Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario are cases in point.
Amidst these, there were a handful of players (six to be precise) who got a chance to take this drug while still in their early stages (read junior level). And the addiction was such that they couldn't resist the temptation thereafter. These players happen to be the only ones (in the Open Era) to have won the junior title and followed it up with triumph at the senior event.
Rediff.com looks at this elite group of Wimbledon champions.
Also read: On clay, serve and volley is no folly
Text: Bikash Mohapatra | Photographs: Getty Images
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