Yesterday the names of Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova were etched, letter by letter, on his mind as the official club engraver waited for the moment he knew which name was destined to be chiselled on to which piece of silverware - the winner's or the runner-up's. He will be ruminating on the names of the Spaniard and the Serb.
Over this final weekend of the Championships, Roman and his assistant work on a total of 48 trophies and medals as all the competitions - seniors, veterans, juniors, wheelchair - of The Championships play to conclusion. In a room under the Royal Box, they sit with their hand implements, eye glasses and an old-fashioned engraving machine from the school of Heath Robinson (it has at least three battered desk lamps taped in snaking formation to shine more light on to the cutting plate).
Roman, who has been the club engraver since 1979, drives to Wimbledon each year in a 50-year-old, red, open-topped MG from his home, near Poznan, in Poland. "Yes, a 70-something driving a 50-year-old car!" he exclaims. "It takes between 14 and 18 hours. I can't fly because my tools are considered offensive weapons."
Roman became the on-site Championships engraver when he was living in Wimbledon and working for Halfhide jewellers, who supply the trophies and silverware. Born in Poland, his family moved to the United Kingdom in 1947 after their home had been taken over by the Communist state and turned into a collective farm. After the changes, Roman, his brother and sister decided to buy back their old family home and moved back to Poland.
It's a long drive over the continent, and there are many more letters to engrave since the All England Club decided to include Christian names rather than initials two years ago, but he relishes the occasion: "It's the highlight of my year. The year divides into before Wimbledon and after Wimbledon. It's a special moment receiving the trophies after they've been presented to the players, sweaty fingerprints and all!"
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