Gustavo Fernandez was having lunch with his coach at Wimbledon on Tuesday when the ITF's official website was updated to confirm him as the new world No.1 in wheelchair tennis.
"He was handling it pretty well, but when Gusti saw his name on the top he couldn't hold it and started crying," Fernandez's coach Fernando San MartÃn tells Wimbledon.com with a look of pride on his face.
Fernandez's achievement is notable not just for himself, but for Argentina - a country that has never had a world No.1 in singles, despite producing the likes of Guillermo Vilas (who got to No.2 in 1975) and Gabriela Sabatini, the 1991 Wimbledon finalist and former women's No.3.
"This is the natural consequence of many years of hard work, training and sacrifices," explains the 23-year-old, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2015 and produced one of the points of The Championships last year when his wheelchair toppled over but he still played the shot successfully with one arm on the grass for support.
"I've always dreamed of being No.1, I needed to get to the top to prove myself it was all worth it."
I am very excited to be here at Wimbledon. There is an extra motivation being No.1
But despite what the history books may say about Vilas and Sabatini, Fernandez added: "For me they were both No.1, I don't see myself as the first Argentinian to get to No.1 in singles. Not at all."
Fernandez's ascent to the top is all the more impressive given that he has the most severe type of disability in wheelchair tennis: complete paraplegia, which means he suffers from a loss of ability to send sensory and motor nerve impulses to the muscle groups below the abdomen area.He has been in a wheelchair since just after his first birthday, when he fell out of a chair and suffered a type of spinal cord injury that he says affects just one in six million people.
The Argentine - winner of the singles titles at Roland Garros in 2016 and the Australian Open this year - competes against some players who have abdomen strengths and some who can even use their legs.
"I need to make adjustments and compensate for the lack of strength not to lose stability when I serve," Fernandez reveals. "It's a bit harder for me in certain ways but in tennis there are no distinctions among the types of disabilities, unlike basketball or swimming."
With two Grand Slam singles titles and with a lead at the top of the rankings, Fernandez arrives in south-west London with high hopes.
"I am very excited to be here at Wimbledon, there is an extra motivation being No.1," he says. "And Wimbledon is a very special place for tennis players; here you can breathe tennis and you can feel the distinctive element of the tournament. It's very special."
Fernandez begins his singles campaign on Thursday against the French world No.3 Stephane Houdet. Britain's Gordon Reid - who won the inaugural Wimbledon singles competition last year - opens the defence of his crown against Stefan Olsson of Sweden.
