Every year there seem to be a few good stories from players coming through qualifying and making a run in the main draw. Last year you had Sebastian Ofner reach the second week, and in 2016 you had the fairy tale story of Marcus Willis. Seeing players outside the top 100 make career-changing runs are often the highlight of Grand Slams. Here are some qualifiers and lucky losers on the men’s side to look out for as the tournament gets underway on Monday.
Jason Kubler
Australian Jason Kubler’s road through qualifying wasn’t easy. In the second round, he defeated Adam Pavlasek 12-10 in the third set. The 25-year-old and former junior #1 will be making his Wimbledon main draw debut. Up until 2017, Kubler was forced to only play events on clay due to knee issues. Now that he’s able to play on every surface, it’ll be interesting to see if he can play at the level many expected he would after an illustrious junior career.
Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis has never been afraid to play his best on the big stage. Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Gulbis after a semifinals appearance at the French Open in 2014, but he can still produce the occasional upset. Gulbis has a favorable draw with British wildcard Jay Clarke in the first round. He can potentially meet #4 seed Alexander Zverev in the third round.
Christian Harrison
Harrison is another player whose career has been plagued by injuries so far. The 24-year-old American was once a promising prospect but has had seven major surgeries in his short career. Even with all of the injuries he’s found a way to come through qualifying at big events including the Miami Open and US Open. The draw didn’t do him any favors as he’ll face #24 seed Kei Nishikori in the first round.
Bernard Tomic
Tomic received entry to the main draw after Roberto Bautista Agut withdrew shortly before the draw ceremony. The Australian’s less than impressive result in the final round of qualifying (straight set loss to Bemelmans) would lead you to believe he doesn’t have much in store for Wimbledon, but it just depends on which Tomic shows up on that day.
Dennis Novak
It’s hard to look past Dennis Novak after his impressive results in qualifying. The Austrian earned his way into the main draw without dropping a set en route. He’ll be making his Wimbledon main draw debut, with a decent chance at recording his first Slam win, with lucky loser Peter Polansky up first.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
