Polish quarterfinal on Wimbledon courts. Something like this has never happened!

Wimbledon is organized by the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club and has been operating since 1877. Polish successes? As history shows, there really are quite a few of them. The first one is the 1937 singles final of Jadwiga Jędrzejowska, who ultimately lost to Dorothy Round (Great Britain) 2:6, 6:2, 5:7. The Pole was the most important figure in Polish tennis during the interwar period. Although we are talking about the times before the so-called Open era, i.e. the period when only amateurs were allowed to play in tournaments. It started to be more professional from 1968.

Many Polish successes are finals or triumphs in junior competitions. Aleksandra Olsza (1995, victories in junior doubles and singles), Agnieszka Radwańska (2005, junior singles title), Marcin Gawron (2006, junior singles final), Urszula Radwańska (2007, win in junior singles and doubles).

Finally, the senior final of "Isi" in 2012 (loss to Serena Williams 1:6, 7:5, 2:6) and the semi-final of the Krakowian a year later. And exactly on July 3 – 12 years ago – the first ever Polish quarter-final took place on the London grass.

Wimbledon: Jerzy Janowicz played against Łukasz Kubot for the semi-final!

The aforementioned Radwańska paved the way in London, giving Polish tennis hope for success at Wimbledon. This was visible practically from the start of the competition in 2013. The aforementioned semi-final played by "Isi", in retrospect, can be treated a bit like... wasting a great opportunity. What are we talking about? Radwańska faced Sabine Lisicki, the German number 23 in the tournament. Radwańska was the "four", and in the absence of Serena Williams, the long-time dominator, in the semi-finals, there was a huge chance for the final triumph. However, Radwańska lost to the German, who turned out to be weaker in the final than the French Marion Bartoli (number 15 in the tournament).

There was also a lot of good going on in the men's singles. Three Polish representatives showed up in the first round. Michał Przysiężny made it from the qualifications to the main tournament, even overcoming the first obstacle, ultimately being eliminated only in a clash with the extremely experienced South African representative Kevin Anderson.

Łukasz Kubot and Jerzy Janowicz definitely made it past the second round of Wimbledon. The two eventually met in the quarterfinals. Kubot defeated the following players: Russian Igor Andreyev (6:1, 7:5, 6:2), Belgian Steve Darcis after a walkover, Frenchman Benoite Paire (6:1, 6:3, 6:4) and another three-coloured Adrian Mannarino (4:6, 6:3, 3:6, 6:3, 6:4).

In Janowicz's case, the path was equally interesting. The Pole started by beating the "wild card" holder, the British Kyle Edmund (6:2, 6:2, 6:4), then the experienced Czech Radek Stepanek (6:2, 5:3 and retirement), the Spaniard Nicolas Almagro (7:6, 6:3, 6:4) and the Austrian Jürgen Melzer (3:6, 7:6, 6:4, 4:6, 6:4).

The favourite for the Polish clash was Janowicz, who was seeded 24th in the tournament. Additionally, Kubot was considered more of a specialist in doubles, which is why his result in the singles at Wimbledon 2013 was a big, positive surprise.

The Polish quarterfinal ended in three sets, but very close. Janowicz won 7:5, 6:4, 6:4. After the match, both gentlemen symbolically exchanged shirts, which was one of the most expressive gestures in the history of Wimbledon in the 21st century. It was clear how much they respected each other's achievements, while celebrating a Polish moment on the most important court in the world.

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However, in the next round, "Jerzyk" met an opponent from the highest world class. Andy Murray, the number 2 of the event beat the Pole, although in four sets and had to come back from a score of 0:1. As it turned out later, the Briton not only beat Janowicz, but in the final he gave the local audience a lot of joy by beating the "number one", the Serb Novak Djokovic. What's more, he did it in three sets, so it can be safely assumed that Murray had a harder time with Janowicz in the semi-final.

In the context of Polish successes, it is worth adding that Kubot made up for his quarter-final defeat four years later by winning the entire tournament in doubles on the Wimbledon grass.

And now more modern times, Iga Świątek and victory in the junior singles (2018) and Hubert Hurkacz's semifinal among singles players in 2021 - after defeating the legendary Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The latest story? Jan Zieliński's victory in 2024 in the mixed doubles, in a duet with Hsieh Su-wei.

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