In July 2018, Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia faced Jack Draper of Great Britain for a place in the Wimbledon boys’ final. What unfolded was a monumental clash which lasted four hours and 23 minutes and pushed both players to their physical and emotional limit. In his latest blog piece, Nico relives the encounter and tells the story behind the story.

To reach the semi-finals of a Junior Grand Slam at Wimbledon and play such a classic match with Jack, who has become a very good friend of mine since, is one of the proudest things I have done in my career.

Even though I didn’t come out on the right side of the result, when I look back it was something amazing to be a part of. It was just an unbelievable match – four hours and 23 minutes, 19-17 in the third set. Incredible.

I remember waking up that morning and being so excited to have the chance to play on such a big court and to have a shot at reaching a final at Wimbledon. At the very least, I was going to fight and battle for the chance to win silverware.

There were maybe a few extra nerves that morning given I was about to play a semi-final, but not many in all honesty. I was just really enjoying myself at the tournament and taking it match by match. I was also playing some really good tennis.

The whole experience was a lot of fun. It’s always a privilege to play at Wimbledon – it’s my favourite Grand Slam and a brilliant tournament. London is also a great city to go to.

Ever since I was a child, it is always a dream of mine to go there, it is so historic and I just have a picture in my mind of all the movies which feature the famous landmarks.

That said, I think I have seen more of London in those movies than during Wimbledon, even though I was there for three weeks, as it’s a case of training all day or resting back at the hotel if I’m not playing.

I would have loved to see Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye but at tournaments you get into a routine and are in a bubble. However, I enjoyed walking around Wimbledon Village with my team and just observing London people living their lives.

It was also the year of the football World Cup and I recall watching Colombia’s match with England with the likes of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, together with their coaches.

Colombia equalised in the last minute and the match went to penalties. There was such a great atmosphere and it was one of so many things that came together that year to make it an extra special time.

I had reached the last four of the boys’ doubles alongside Sebastian Korda the year before so I knew about the feeling of Wimbledon, but the semi against Jack was a different level.

Not far away, the famous Kevin Anderson-John Isner clash which lasted six-and-a-half hours – the longest semi-final in Wimbledon history – was taking place, and another epic tie, this was on Court No. 3, was unfolding.

Jack served unbelievably the whole match. I could hardly do anything on his serve and simply had to stick in there and take care of my own service game, which I did and only lost two service games all match.

I maybe had a few chances at the end of the first set to close things out but failed to, then didn’t play a good tie-break and I knew I was in trouble early on. I eventually lost 7-6(5).

The second set was similar: we were both holding our serves, although I was having a little more difficulty doing so than Jack. I somehow took it to a tie-break and I remember thinking after double faulting early on, ‘this is the end’.

There were some unbelievable shots and points from both of us. I edged ahead in the tie-break and then got so lucky as Jack double faulted to level the match at one-set all – the second set finished 7-6(8). I was extremely pumped in this moment.

However, now comes the regret. I was finally able to break him in the first game of the third set but then, in the next game, I played some very loose points and he broke straight back and I realised there was a long way to go.

Jack started to get some momentum and my service games were getting tougher: I remember being 4-3 down and at 0-40 but managed to come back and, from there, it was about survival.

We were both playing well and by the end I had saved 9 match points – eight in the final set. I had some break points at 11-11 but I couldn’t convert and it still hurts me to this day that I wasn’t able to capitalise.

I had some more break points, while Jack had other match points but I kept fighting. Then, at 18-17, we played another unreal point and Jack ended up winning a very close match. The final score was 7-6(5) 6-7(8) 19-17 – can you believe it?

In the immediate aftermath of a match like that, you don’t always think clearly, but I remember wishing that my dad, who had passed away the year before, could have seen me play and fight the way I did.

I was tired, emotional and very sad that such a tremendous effort wasn’t enough. I gave it my all and I was so close to reaching a Junior Grand Slam final, at my favourite Grand Slam, but in the end, it wasn’t to be.

At the same time, I was also proud and every time I think of this match, I get goosebumps. I also learned a lot from it and I have no doubt that one day I will be back in this scenario and the experience will serve me well.  

The match finished around 6.30pm, but I didn’t leave the site for another three hours or so as I went to the locker room and showered, was required for anti-doping, had a massage and did some recovery work and then spoke with the media.

Afterwards, I went back to my hotel and sat with my team, talking about what an incredible match it was, and they were saying how proud I should be of myself. I also spoke with my family that night and it was pretty emotional.

I spoke about not being able to get the win but they were cheering me up, which I appreciated, and the amount of support I received from back home in Colombia was phenomenal.

The next day, I woke and my body felt as if it was breaking. However, I had to play the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the doubles alongside my partner Ondrej Styler of Czech Republic and we won both matches.

So, I did get to play a Wimbledon final after all, although Ondrej and I lost to Finland’s Otto Virtanen and Yanki Erel of Turkey. However, I ended up going to the Champions’ Dinner where I met Novak Djokovic and Garbine Muguruza, which was fantastic.

Incredibly, exactly a year later – on 13th July 2019 – Jack and I faced each other again, in the semi-finals at M15 Cancun, and this time I won after Jack was forced to retire. If he hadn’t started to cramp, I reckon another crazy battle was about to play out.

But ever since that day at Wimbledon, Jack and I have kept in touch and we talk a lot. Whatever is happening, whether it’s a good win or a tough period, we’re there for one another.

We still remember and laugh about that day back in 2018. We’re both very proud of the effort we put in and the fight we showed. It was a tough defeat to take but I cannot wait to have many more battles like this.