Novak Djokovic was a little late to his hitting date with the young American player Michael Mmoh at Wimbledon in July. But Boris Becker, Djokovic’s coach, was there, and he and Mmoh reminisced while waiting for Djokovic to arrive.

Becker fondly remembered Mmoh’s father, Tony Mmoh, who was a professional tennis player from Nigeria and had reached No. 105 on the tour. Becker told Michael, now a top junior player, about how the elder Mmoh had played, and Becker also passed along some tips.

“I know what he was saying,” Tony Mmoh said with a laugh during a telephone interview from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was working. “He was joking about who had the thickest legs on the tour, him or me.”

That was a running joke between Becker and the elder Mmoh, two stocky players who once shared the same job description. Thirty years ago, just after Becker had become the youngest Wimbledon champion, Tony Mmoh won his only United States Open match, beating Thomas Hogstedt in straight sets.