Straight Sets: A Good Day for Polish Players

WIMBLEDON, England – For many, the second Monday at Wimbledon is the finest day on the tennis calendar.

Following the traditional break Sunday, all 32 players remaining in singles took the court at the sport's most prestigious Grand Slam, making for a smorgasbord of forehands, backhands, aces, grunts and fist pumps in the fourth round. When the fickle British weather co-operates, as it did this year, even better.

Most spectators, however, would not have chosen Court 14 and the match between Lukasz Kubot and Adrian Mannarino as their first destination if given a choice. It was the lone singles tussle of 16 in which both players were ranked outside the top 100, Kubot at 130th and Mannarino 111th.

"I've heard about Mannarino, but I'm not sure about the other guy," said Ben James, 24, a fan who watched part of the match before making his way to Centre Court. That other guy, Kubot, prevailed in five sets to warrant a little more attention.

In defeating Mannarino, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, with the help of 26 aces, he also joined his fellow Pole Jerzy Janowicz in making history. Not since Wojtek Fibak at the 1980 United States Open has a Polish man featured in the quarterfinals at a major. Now Poland has two, and since Kubot meets his good friend next, the country is guaranteed its first men's semifinalist at a Grand Slam.

"It's a big moment for Polish tennis," Kubot said.

This after Agnieszka Radwanska reached the women's final in 2012. And Radwanska, based on ranking, is now the favorite to win the women's title Saturday after world No. 1 Serena Williams lost to Sabine Lisicki later Monday.

Kubot clinched victory five minutes later than Janowicz, who toppled Jurgen Melzer in five sets, and like his countryman, sunk to his knees facedown in celebration.

The first four sets Monday were not unusual grass-court fare in that one break in each set separated the players. Kubot served and volleyed, and often rushed the net behind second-serve returns. Mannarino mostly patrolled the baseline, attempted handfuls of drop shots and was forced to hit numerous passing shots.

The fifth set, even though it, too, featured a sole break, morphed into another match entirely. The first three games lasted 34 minutes, longer than the entire second set.

"I was very happy that I won the opening game of the fifth set, because then I started to believe more in my service games," Kubot said.

Like Janowicz, Kubot held comfortably to close out the match. Witnessing his booming serve and his volleying ability, it is difficult to fathom that a mere two of his 17 career finals in singles and men's doubles have come on surfaces other than clay.

The aces and service winners are sure to surface in Wednesday's quarterfinal against Janowicz, who registered 16 aces and claimed 80 percent of his first-serve points against Melzer.

"For both of us it's an open match," Kubot said.

And a match that will not be on Court 14.

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