Jerzy Janowicz Is Becoming A Standout

Written by: Staff on 2nd July 2013

Jerzy Janowicz Is Becoming A Standout

epa03769421 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland returns to Austria's Juergen Melzer during their fourth round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 01 July 2013. EPA/GERRY PENNY |

Jerzy Janowicz, the 24th seeded Pole who is shaping up as the biggest threat to Britain’s own Andy Murray progressing through to Wimbledon’s final for a second year in succession, surprisingly joined the list of players criticizing the state of the All England Club grass courts.

The exploits of Janowicz and fellow quarter finalist Lukasz Kubot, who will meet on Wednesday have guaranteed Poland a men’s semi-finalist in a grand slam event for the first time in the country’s history.

Both Poles’ initial mood was one of elation and Janowicz said: “We are just happy because what is going on right now is magical. I went straight away to Kubot’s locker room and we hugged.

“It’s unbelievable what is going on. We have two players in the quarterfinals and I think this is by far the best thing that possibly could happen to Polish tennis.”

But the tone of Janowicz voice changed as he switched his attention to the state of the court. Several seeded players have criticized the surface at SW19, including Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and most vehemently Frenchman Benoit Paire while his compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was one of seven players injured at the tournament.

Now after beating Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 7,6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a marathon clash, Janowicz insisted Court No.12 was ‘unplayable’.

Janowicz, who now goes forward to meet countryman Kubot in the quarterfinals, said: “Honestly saying today I didn’t feel perfectly; I slipped really badly few times during this match. I think this Court 12 is unplayable; it was really bad conditions today.

‘If I have to compare this court to Centre Court, it’s completely different story. The surface today was awful for me, so many bad bounces. As I said before, I slipped four times. This doesn’t happen to me too often.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: American tennis news, Andy Murray, British tennis news, Jerzy Janowicz, Wimbledon Championships