Wimbledon: Celebrate the underdogs and their stinging bite

Inevitably, we will shift our focus towards the regular suspects, who will brush aside the shocks and tremors of the first week to continue their relentless pursuit towards glory. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro understand what it takes to last the fortnight and fly home with silverware. The tireless David Ferrer is still afloat, as usual a picture of consistency amidst the chaos of the wild week.

But before we get to the weekend that matters, there are still some of those struggling men alive in the draw to offer their share of stories. Ivan Dodig is the beneficiary of a second retirement this week, as he was helped into the fourth round for the first time in his career. German Philipp Kohlschreiber retired in their first round encounter and Igor Sijsling, the man who took down Milos Raonic in the second round, repeated the favour today.

31 year old Lukasz Kubot reached the round of 16 when he dismissed the 25^th seeded Benoit Paire in straight sets earlier this evening. It is only the second such experience for the Pole in London – he lost in four sets to Gael Monfils when he reached the same stage in 2011. He has another Frenchman standing between him and a first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Fortunately for Kubot, the man across the net is going to be equally inexperienced. The 25 year old had never been past the second round in a Grand Slam earlier in his career, but is riding his luck this time. The Pole was expected to play Nadal in the second round, but Darcis relieved him of the burden before withdrawing from the tournament with a heavy shoulder.

The 111^th ranked Mannarino is proving just as lucky – marathon man John Isner was forced to withdraw due to injury in the second round and the left-hander ousted Brown in a one sided match to outdo his best performance on a grand slam stage. Mannarino had just won three Grand Slam matches before this Wimbledon, but has already won as many in reaching the fourth round here.

Another Frenchman is in the mix too and luck has played its part with him too. Kenny de Schepper was meant to play Marin Cilic in the second round, but the Croat pulled up lame just before that match. To his credit, the 80^th ranked man outplayed the 22^nd seeded Juan Monaco to earn his spot in the round of 16. Incredibly, the 26 year old has never been past the first round of a Grand Slam and hasn’t even ever qualified to play at the US Open.

Those on the lookout for a dark horse will not be disappointed either – 24^th seeded Jerzy Janowicz upset 15^th seeded Nicolas Almagro to book his spot against Jurgen Melzer. The Austrian completed his unpleasant task of bringing Stakhovsky back to earth from the rarefied heights of defeating Federer. Janowicz is coming off third round appearances at Melbourne and Paris, but this is the best showing yet in his nascent career.

And finally there is Bernard Tomic, who has just about as much talent as he lacks temperament. The unruly Aussie is in the midst of a fine run – his latest victim was the 9^th seeded Richard Gasquet. Tomic has been more in the news for his open defiance of ATP’s decision to ban his father from being courtside during his matches. The Aussie has done a tremendous job of keeping the controversy out of his mind as he tries to emulate his impressive run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2011 as an 18 year old freshman.

All in all, Wimbledon this year is offering plenty of thrills and spills, a rarity in this era of super consistent top players who have made a fine habit of winning where expected. 13 retirements and just as many upsets, if not more, have added a few layers of drama and intensity that have been missing in the early phases of these major events for some time now. Enjoy the ride while it lasts.