Steve Darcis - the Dark Horse at Wimbledon?

Darcis, about to play his ferocious single-handed backhand

Darcis’s draw was extremely hostile, considering he had to play Rafael Nadal in the first round, but now that he is into the second round, we can refer to the hostility only in the past tense. His second round opponent is the Polish player Lukasz Kubot, best known for his fourth round appearance at Wimbledon in 2011. Having watched Darcis play yesterday, I think it is distinctly possible that he goes comfortably through to the next round. If he does that, his third round clash would be against either of the Frenchmen, the qualifier Stephane Robert or the seeded Benoit Paire. A battle against Paire would be difficult, but considering how he played against Nadal, it is not completely improbable to think that Darcis has the ability to defeat the highly-touted Frenchman.

The most likely fourth round opponent for Darcis, if he gets that far, would be either John Isner or Lleyton Hewitt. While it would be difficult to face Isner’s serve, the American’s groundstrokes aren’t half as good as those of Darcis. If it happens to be Hewitt, who was a champion here in the previous decade, I wonder whether the Australian can match up to an in-form, hard-hitting player.

So Darcis’s entry into the quarterfinal doesn’t seem all that unlikely. But if he does make it there, he is likely to face seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, which might mark the end of his fairy tale. Even if he somehow manages to beat the odds against Federer, the subsequent rounds aren’t going to be easy either, and it’d take a miracle for him to win, considering he would likely have to defeat Novak Djokovic and the local lad, Andy Murray.

Of course, history can’t be ignored, and the person who caused the upset last year, Lukas Rosol, lost against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the very next round, and that too in straight sets. So this prognosis would become a joke if Lukasz Kubot manages to replicate Kohlschreiber’s feat. Despite that, I do believe that a person could beat a title favourite, a two-time winner at Wimbledon, he could very well defeat the other favourites and champions.