PETE ZIEBRON
An ecstatic Jerzy Janowicz celebrates a victory. Pete Ziebron Images
Four years ago, Jerzy Janowicz reached the Wimbledon semifinals and was up a set and a break on eventual Champion Andy Murray. Since this time, the Pole has reached two ATP Finals however has not achieved what he and many others have expected.
Last week in Stuttgart, Janowicz played well in reaching the quarterfinals. Prior to losing to Benoit Paire, Janowicz defeated world #12 Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. The two victories in Germany gave the Pole three wins for the year, a marked improvement after not winning a match in three attempts last year on the ATP Tour.
Janowicz did manage to take a set from US Open Finalist and then world number one Novak Djokovic in the first round of the US Open last August. Additionally, he came close to defeating Gilles Muller in his opening match at the Rio Olympic Games, losing a heartbreak of a tiebreaker at 12-10 in the third set. Janowicz did manage to win the clay court Genoa Challenger last September, defeating Nicolas Almagro in the Final.
In November of 2012, Janowicz reached the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 Final, losing to David Ferrer. In that event, he defeated then world #3 Andy Murray and then world #9 Janko Tipsarevic. Following the Final, Janowicz had this to say: "Maybe one day I will become top‑10 player in the world."
Following his loss in the 2013 Wimbledon semifinal, Janowicz stated: "I'm still quite young player. I have a lot of time. I will just keep on practicing and I hope I will have a chance to be in the semifinal of Wimbledon again."
Today Jerzy Janowicz is 26 years of age. Last week on the ATP Tour 39 year-old Tommy Haas defeated Roger Federer and 38 year-old Ivo Karlovic reached the Final in Den Bosch. There is still plenty of time for Janowicz to find the winning formula that works for him at Paris Bercy in 2012 and again at Wimbledon four years ago. His effort last week in Stuttgart will certainly cause the tennis world to be on alert as Janowicz will attempt to replicate his fantastic run on grass once again this year at Wimbledon.