If you’re a 23-year-old from Slovenia ranked No92 in the world, you don’t expect to make an appearance in the main interview room at Wimbledon. Unless you’re scheduled to play Andy Murray of course.
Blaz Rola probably got more attention than he bargained for when he won his first round match to set up a meeting with Murray – the reigning champion at the All England Club.
Making his Wimbledon debut and playing just his second-ever grand slam main draw, Rola will face the biggest challenge of his career so far and the Slovenian admits it is a match-up that is equally daunting and exciting.
“When I saw the draw and I saw that potentially I can play the second round against Andy, my motivation was off the charts,” said Rola, who captured the NCAA title last year playing for Ohio State.
“I started playing professionally last year in the middle of the season. I’m basically playing as an underdog most of the time.
“I thrive on that. I think a lot of the opponents don’t expect what’s coming. That’s going to be my advantage, but not for very long."
Murray, who commenced his title defence with a straight sets win over David Goffin, says he doesn’t know much about Rola but can get some intel from his fellow Britons who have faced him in recent weeks.
Rola lost to Britain’s James Ward in the opening round at Queen’s earlier this month and defeated Daniel Smethurst to qualify for Eastbourne last week.
They were the only two grass court events he contested in his car-eer coming into Wimbledon and he concedes a victory over Murray today is unlikely. “It would be a very, very big shock,” said Rola.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was in top form in his opener against Andrey Golubev but he might need to step it up even more when he plays his good friend and veteran Radek Stepanek today.
Golubev has lost his last 10 grass court matches in a row, while Stepanek is a former quarter-finalist here, has taken down some big scalps on the surface and has a game tailored for the lawns
“Radek is an experienced player. He’s somebody that I know very well off the court, as well,” Djokovic said.
“This win against Andy (Murray) in Queen’s must have given him a lot of confidence coming into Wimbledon. I always thought that his game is very good for this surface because he has a touch, he anticipates well, he comes to the net. He’s one of the very few serve‑and‑volley players nowadays, has this flat forehand.”
