Poland now has two representatives in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon 2013 Men’s Singles championships after 24th-seed Jerzy Janowicz and 130th-ranked Lukasz Kubot won their respective fourth round matches on Monday.
22-year old Janowicz, ranked as low as 136th this time a year ago, defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Now part of the world’s top 30 after his impressive run to the final at last year’s Paris Masters, Janowicz’s ranking is projected to rise further after this tournament.
“At the beginning, I had a problem with him [being a] left-hander,” said Janowicz. “Luckily, I was able to take the second set. I was still able to keep on fighting. I think I should [have] closed the match in the fourth set. I had the break. I got, maybe, a little bit nervous. But luckily I was able to win this match.”
Janowicz will next play Kubot on Wednesday which means that there’s a guaranteed Polish male Grand Slam semifinalist, a first.
The last male quarter-finalist at Wimbledon was Wojtek Fibak in 1980.
Kubot, a former world number 41, defeated left-hander Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“It’s unbelievable what is going on right now,” said Janowicz. “We have two players in quarter-finals in the men’s draw. Right now, tennis is a really famous sport in our country. I hope we’ll get more fans.”
