Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said that it is good for tennis to see new names and unexpected players reaching the second week of Grand Slam events such as the Wimbledon Championships.
Several high profile upsets have happened during the first week of Wimbledon, including the ouster of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. It was the same case for the ladies’ event with Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka bowing out early in the tournament.
“It is a surprise, there’s no question about it. It’s a bit [of a] strange feeling not to have Federer or Nadal at the second week of a major,” the Serbian said.
“There [are] some players who have been playing great tennis. I think it’s interesting also to see new faces for the crowd [and] for [the] tennis world in general,” he added.
For the men’s singles event, there are seven unseeded players in the fourth round.
“[In] every match I’m going to play, every opponent I’m going to face is going to be more difficult,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic will be facing 13th seed Tommy Haas of Germany and the world number one is quick to admit that there’s no clear favorite in the upcoming match.
“He’s full of confidence on the court,” he said.
“You wouldn’t expect him to play quarterfinals of [the] French Open with his game because clay is not his surface, but he did. He’s proven everybody wrong because he’s so fit and he moves around the court really well, is very solid from both sides, on the baseline, [has a] great serve, variety in his game [and] changes the pace, which is perfect for grass.”
“It’s going to be a good one.”
