Status: #15 seed at Wimbledon. Reached semifinals at Wimbledon last year.
First tennis memory: “Plastic racquet. Playing with.”
Tennis inspirations: “I just love the sport. That’s it.”
Last book read: “None [smiles].”
Current car: “Peugeot.”
Greatest sports moment: “Finals, Bercy, ATP. (Qualified for Paris Masters, then defeated Kohlschreiber, Cilic, Murray, Tipsarevic and Simon before losing to Ferrer in final.) Wimbledon semifinal last year.”
Most painful moment: “(Pauses)…I was a junior…French Open final. Or losing to Murray in Wimbledon semifinal.”
First famous player you met or encountered: “I think when I was still a junior, when I was 15 or 16, I had seen Federer. (Where?) Wimbledon.”
Favorite tournaments: “Stockholm Open. Wimbledon. Bercy [smiles]. Indian Wells.”
Favorite sport outside tennis: “Table tennis.”
Three athletes you like to watch & follow: “Radwanska sisters. Mateusz Mika – he’s a volleyball player. And Robert Kubica (Formula 1 racer from Poland).”
Closest Tennis Friends: “Radwanska sisters. And Polish doubles team Fyrstenberg and Matkowski.”
Funniest player encountered: “Monfils [smiles].”
Strangest match: “Australian Open 2013 [laughs]. (Do you mean the Somdev Devvarman match?) Yes.”
Funny tennis memory: “When John McEnroe is blowing up. (You watched that as a kid?) Yeah. I still watch him on You Tube from time to time.”
Embarrassing tennis memory: “Australian Open 2013 [smiles].”
Why do you love playing tennis: “You cannot explain why you love something or someone. It is just feelings. I have no explanation.”
People/personality qualities most admired: “I like when people are honest. And I like when people are sensitive. And those for me are the most.”
(Scoop Malinowski’s latest book “Facing Hewitt” has been published this month and is now available at amazon.)
"You can't explain why you love something."
Bryan · June 30, 2014 at 3:12 am
Good to see Jerzy in here with some interesting comments. Bummed he busted out of Wimbledon and they put him on Court 6 where there was no TV cameras. Guess that’s what happen when you’ve got a sub-.500 record for the year. I still think he’ll break the top 10 one day but it’s going to take a couple years.
Scoop Malinowski · June 30, 2014 at 9:06 am
Bryan it’s hard to predict Janowicz, he’s a unique player. I agree he has top ten or top five potential but how many talented players do we know of who don’t fulfill their potential? Janowicz needs to have a good summer to get back on track.
Bryan · June 30, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Seems like the main adjustments Jerzy needs to get back on his 2013 form is threefold: Practice serving more to buoy accuracy; reduce drop shots to only situations that call for them; and discipline his mind so he comes focused to win each and every single match.
If he does these three things he’ll be back. Easier said than done, but with hard work he should work out these three main flaws without too much difficulty.
Scoop Malinowski · June 30, 2014 at 6:55 pm
Agree Bryan, but sometimes these super talented Eastern Euros like Safin Kafel etc seem more about the money than legacy or majors. If JJ can find the discipline and desire to want to be the man, the face of tennis, the ATP kingpin, he can be a force. But JJ does not strike me as having those kinds of qualities, like Dimitrov and Raonic and Kei have. They all are quality people who fit the role of a champion or number one, JJ is more like a rebel renegade, not always nice to fans, kids, as Dan told us, kind of does things his own way. But for sure it will be interesting to see how JJ evolves as a person and player on the Tour. You gotta love his potential.