Wimbledon Surprises

Surprise Quarter finalists

This year's Wimbledon has seen a ton of higher ranked, higher profiled tennis players fizzle out and see themselves packing their bags for home. That does not mean that the quarterfinal places aren't taken. In this post I am going to highlight the newcomers to the latter stages of a Grand Slam event. A lot of the 16 quarter finalists among the two genders are inexperienced when it comes to getting this far into a slam tournament. Below I am going to highlight some of the lesser known players that have persevered this year.

ATP

Lukasz Kubot (Poland)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Andreev: 6-1 7-5 6-2

R2: Vs. Darcis: w/o

R3: Def. Paire [25]: 6-1 6-3 6-4

R4: Def. Mannarino: 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4

 This veteran to the tour is currently ranked 130 in the world, but does not show it. The best results at a slam before making it to the quarterfinal was the 4th round twice, once in 2010 at the Australian Open and the other at Wimbledon in 2011. Now he is set in a quarterfinal clash against his fellow countryman, Jerzy Janowicz. The winner will be the first Polish man to ever make a semifinal at Wimbledon in the history of its existence.

Jerzy Janowicz (Poland)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Edmund: 6-2 6-2 6-4

R2: Def. Stepanek: 6-2 5-3 ret.

R3: Def. Almagro [15]: 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4

R4: Def. Melzer: 3-6 7-6(1) 6-4 3-6 6-4

Jerzy is an up and comer superstar in the world of tennis. He has a fiery personality and is not afraid to argue with the umpire and lines judges. Along with the personality, he has a huge game with a big serve and huge ground strokes. At rank 22, he is currently shooting up in the rankings at an alarming rate. The 6'8" Polish power player is imposing himself among all the others and looks like he is ready to take on anyone that comes his way. The next opponent? Fellow Polish player Lukasz Kubot.

WTA

Sabine Lisicki (Germany)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Schiavone: 6-1 6-2

R2: Def. Vesnina: 6-3 6-1

R3: Def. Stosur [14]: 4-6 6-2 6-1

R4: Def S.Williams [1]: 6-2 1-6 6-4

Now this big serving German woman isn't on this list due to her not showing up at Wimbledon. That is far from the truth as she has defeated the French Open champ of that year at Wimbledon 3 years in a row. Now she can add another to the list as she defeated Serena Williams, which is why she is on this list. Serena had a 34 match winning streak and was looking unbeatable until she faced Lisicki. Lisicki didn't back down and she held on for a tight 3 set victory over the number 1 player in the world and 16 time grand slam champion. Next up for the 23rd ranked player in the world is Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

Kaia Kanepi (Estonia)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Tara Moore: 7-5 5-7 7-5

R2: Def. Kerber [7]: 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3

R3: Def. Riske: 6-2 6-3

R4: Def. Robson: 7-6(6) 7-5

This former top 15 player in the world disappeared for a few years due to some injuries and uninspiring play. However the draw opened up for her and she took advantage of it. In the 2nd round she took out last year's semifinalist Angelique Kerber and England's rose, Laura Robson. She made the quarterfinal of Wimbledon back in 2010 and she can add 2013 to her resume as well. Next on her plate? A very difficult match up with the giant killer, Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Sloane Stephens (USA)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Hampton: 6-3 6-3

R2: Def. Petkovic: 7-6(2) 2-6 8-6

R3: Def. Cetkovska: 7-6(3) 0-6 6-4

R4: Def. Puig: 4-6 7-5 6-1

The young face of the WTA for the United States is making a name for herself lately. After making the semifinals this year at the Australian Open, the expectations for this 20 year old has skyrocketed. She has lived up to them thus far, making the 4th round of Roland Garros and now making her first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. It may look like she lucked out with her draw in that she did not have to play one seeded player, however Petkovic is a former top 10 player and Cetkovska is a former top 30. Both ladies rankings are low due to injuries, not declining skill set. Sloane has had some tough matches en route to the quarterfinals and it doesn't get easier, with a matchup with the pesky, energetic Marion Bartoli of France, who is a former finalist at Wimbledon.

Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium)

Path to QF

R1: Def. Putintseva: 7-5 6-4

R2: Def. Jovanovski: 6-4 6-4

R3: Def. Dolonc: 6-4 6-2

R4: Def. Pennetta: 7-6(2) 6-3

This Belgian woman is playing the best tennis of her career at the age of 27 and has improved her rank up to 20 currently. That is sure to improve even more as she has just advanced to her first quarterfinal at a slam ever. Having made her way to the 4th round at this year's Australian Open, things were starting to fall into place for Kirsten and she was starting to get the most out of her tennis. She had a easy path to the quarters and hasn't dropped a set yet. Can she continue her dominance against the 2011 champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals? We will find out!

These are wonderful surprises for the tournament this year and it definitely makes it more interesting seeing if one of these players can make a push for the finals.

Thanks for reading my post! I hope you have enjoyed it and don't forget to read my future posts if you enjoy tennis!