Wimbledon 2013: Surprise Quarterfinalists with the Best Chance to Advance

Week one at the All-England Club degenerated into complete chaos.

Tops seeds and crowd favorites Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were summarily dismissed on the men’s side of the draw. The ladies' draw saw Maria Sharapova fall and fall again, losing her effort to stay in the tournament on Court One.

The No. 2 seed, Victoria Azarenka, also the product of a nasty spill, was forced to withdraw before taking the court on Wednesday. 

On Day 7, Serena Williams lost her bid to repeat as Wimbledon champion in 2013, upset in her fourth round match.

While the majority of tennis fans moaned and complained, hope stirred to life in the locker rooms.For the first time there appeared to be a crack in the armor, and with the crack comes a chance for someone other than the men’s and ladies’ top seeds to reach the final stages of a Grand Slam.

Could there possibly be a new winner crowned on the courts of Wimbledon?

With hope comes courage and the willingness to try. After opening the floodgates, some surprise entrants into the quarterfinals have emerged heading into the second week of action at Wimbledon.

How far can they go?

Sloane Stephens (Seed No. 17)

Day 8: Quarterfinal No. 2 on Court 1 

Ever since Sloane Stephens upset Serena Williams at the 2013 Australian Open expectations have been high.

Now at age 20, reaching the final stages of majors is almost expected. Yet Stephens' arrival in the second week of Wimbledon 2013 is a remarkable feat.

She took out fellow American Jamie Hampton in her opening round match. Hampton was playing some of the best tennis of her career coming into Wimbledon, but Stephens took her out in straight sets.

She followed that by defeating always dangerous Andrea Petkovic of Germany in three tight sets. That victory sent Stephens into her third round contest to face Czech competitor Petra Cetkovska who had just dispatched the No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki. 

On Monday, Stephens faced another up-and-comer Monica Puig of Puerto Rico for a spot in the quarterfinals. The two battled for three sets with Stephens emerging as the winner.

Her next opponent in the quarters is Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli who has vast experience on the big stages.

We’d love to give the nod to Stephens, but Bartoli is the one who’ll likely come through in this unorthodox year at the All England Club. 

Marion Bartoli (Seed No. 15)

Day 8: Quarterfinal No. 2 on Court 1 

Another player who professes to love the grass is Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

Bartoli has made the finals at the All England Club once already, but that was back in 2007 when she lost the championship match to Venus Williams. 

Bartoli did reach the quarterfinals again in 2011 losing to Serena Williams, but she’s never advanced further at Wimbledon since 2007.  

On her way to the quarterfinals, Bartoli defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in straight sets followed by her win over Christina McHale of the United States 7-5, 6-4.

In the third round the Frenchwoman upended Camila Giorgi of Italy in straight sets. On Monday, Bartoli took a giant step over unseeded Karin Knapp of Italy to secure her spot in the quarterfinals. 

There she will meet American Sloane Stephens for a chance to advance to the women’s semifinal. Spurred on by her success, expect Bartoli to take her game one more step at Wimbledon.

Kaia Kanepi (unseeded)

Day 8: Quarterfinal No. 1 on Court 1 

Battling injury, Kaia Kanepi missed the last half of 2012 and the first few months of 2013.

She found her way back on tour during the clay court season where she enjoyed great success, winning the title in Brussels. This helped her regain some of her lost ranking.

Formerly world No. 15, Kanepi has climbed back into the WTA top 50.

Wimbledon is one of her best memories on tour. With her big serve and her power game, Kanepi reached the quarterfinals in 2010.

Kanepi took out Brit Tara Moore in the first round and then faced the No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber in round two.

Kerber was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2012 with an itch to reach further in 2013. It was a close match but Kanepi hung on to win.

In the third round Kanepi dispatched American Alison Riske who’d enjoyed some upset wins as well.

She endured another tough match on Monday fighting Laura Robson as well as the throngs of Brits cheering her on—hoping to find her way back to another match in the quarterfinals.

Kanepi was rewarded while Brits watched their sweetheart fall in straight sets.

The lady from Estonia will next face German Sabine Lisicki for a chance to advance to the semifinals.

It will, however, likely be Lisicki who moves on as the battle of the power hitters draws to a close. 

Sabine Lisicki (Seed No. 23)

Day 8: Quarterfinal No. 1 on Court 1 

The stunner of week two came on Centre Court between German Sabine Lisicki and world No. 1 Serena Williams, who won this championship a year ago.

Serena had advanced fairly easily but would not survive the power game of Lisicki, who now finds herself in the quarterfinals.

Lisicki will be facing another power hitter in Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. 

Lisicki in the quarterfinals is really not a surprise—but who she defeated to get there is a real shocker for most in the tennis world.

All the German’s wins came over seasoned professionals.

She took out former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the opening round followed by dangerous Russian Elena Vesnina. Lisicki won in straight sets during her opening two rounds.

In the third round, Lisicki dispatched the No. 14 seed Aussie Samantha Stosur in three sets. This brought her to her fourth round encounter with Serena Williams where she got everyone's attention by taking the first set.

Serena fought back hard and won the second set, seemingly back in control. But Willams could not stem the tide as Lisicki overwhelmed her to win the third set and the match. 

The German now finds herself in the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years, having been unable to compete in 2010. The furthest she’s advanced was the semifinals in 2011.

Her game definitely comes alive on the grass. 

There she will meet another surprise quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi who advanced over the Brit favorite, Laura Robson.

Given the momentum of defeating Serena Williams, expect Lisicki to advance to the semifinals. 

Kirsten Flipkens (Seed No. 20)

Day 8: Quarterfinal No. 2 on Center Court 

Kirsten Flipkens is 27 years of age and has played the Wimbledon main draw four times. She advanced to the third round in 2009—her furthest reach at the All England Club until this year.

Prior to taking the court at Wimbledon, Flipkens reached the finals at ‘S-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, before losing to Simona Halep of Romania in the final. 

Flipkens opened proceedings at Wimbledon by defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.

Round two saw the Belgian upending Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia. In the third round Flipkens put away another Serb, Vesna Dolonc, in straight sets.

In the fourth round Flipkens dispatched Italian Flavia Penneta of Italy to reach her first major quarterfinal.

She will meet Czech Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. Kvitova, who won the 2011 Wimbledon Championship will probably overcome Flipkens' challenge and move on to the semifinals. 

Lukasz Kubot (unseeded)

Day 9: Quarterfinal Match No. 3 

With a ranking of 130 in the world, no one is more surprised that he is standing in the quarterfinals than Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

He was expected to fall victim to Rafael Nadal long before the fourth round. However, once Nadal was upset, this section of the draw widened a bit more—at least far enough that Kubot squeezed through.

In his opening round Kubot took out Russian Igor Andreev in straight sets. Then he received a walkover from Steve Darcis of Belgium—the player who’d upset the No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal.

In the third round, Kubot took out the No. 25 seed Benoit Paire of France who appeared to put up little resistance.

Kubot had reached the fourth round at Wimbledon once before in 2011. This year, he equaled his best and took one step further into the quarterfinals when he dispatched opponent Adrian Mannarino of France, seeded No. 111 in the world. 

Wednesday may be Kubot’s lucky day. His opponent in the quarterfinals is fellow Pole Jerzy Janowicz.

The two have never met, but you have to give the nod to top 30 Janowicz in this match. 

Jerzy Janowicz (Seed No. 24)

Day 9: Quarterfinal Match No. 3 

The current No. 22 player in the world, seeded No. 24 at Wimbledon, Jerzy Janowicz finds himself in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. 

He got there by taking out Brit Kyle Edmund in the first round followed by an upset victory against veteran Radek Stepanek who retired trailing 2-6, 3-5 in the second set.

His third round victory came over the No. 15 seed Nicolas Almagro in three tough sets. 

The 22-year old Pole made it to the third round in 2012 during his first main draw, but lost to Florian Mayer in a five-set match.

In 2013 Janowicz reached made it past the third round, making it to the quarters by upending another veteran Jurgen Melzer in four tough sets. 

Janowicz will next play fellow Pole, Lukasz Kubot who overcame Adrian Mannarino of France to advance.

Chances are we will see Janowicz in his first major semifinal. 

Fernando Verdasco (unseeded)

Day 9: Quarterfinal Match No. 4

Once ranked as high as No. 7 in 2009, Spain’s Fernando Verdasco may be finding his way back to the top of the men’s game, but this time on grass, a surface where he’s never enjoyed much success in the past.

He did reach as far as the fourth round in 2006, 2008 and 2009 but his quarterfinal reach this year represents his best Wimbledon so far. He’s played the Championships 10 times in the past.

Verdasco took out Xavier Malisse in his opener, winning in four sets. In the second round he dispatched Frenchman Julien Benneteau in three tight sets.

Ernests Gulbis met Verdasco in the third round. Gulbis had defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round but could not get past the Spaniard, losing in three sets.

Finally, Verdasco took out another Frenchman, Kenny De Schepper without much fuss 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round.  

In the quarterfinal Verdasco must get past No. 2 Andy Murray.

The two men have met nine times with Murray emerging as the winner in eight of those contests. Verdasco’s only win came at the Australian Open in 2009.

The two have yet to meet on grass.  

Regardless of the improvement Verdasco has shown thus far, you have to give the nod to Murray to ease past him and into the semifinals.