Wimbledon: Men's update

Chief Sports Writer

Wednesday 4 July 2012

THE journey from the Australian Open just three years ago has been uphill for Florian Meyer.

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Hugh MacDonald

The German could yesterday look back from a privileged vantage point as a Wimbledon quarter-finalist to the point in time when he was 450th in the world.

Today he will face the world No.1.

Meyer has endured tough times, but he reached a special high yesterday, beating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

"Eight years ago I was here in the quarters, and now eight years later I am here again," said Meyer, now ranked 29th and facing Novak Djokovic for a place in the last four. "It's a wonderful dream for me. I mean the mental side is a tough side for me. In tennis I had some years where I just had some tough losses and I didn't feel well. But last year I played a perfect year. Everything is going good now."Meyer, though, admitted there had been periods when he thought his life in tennis was over. "To be honest, I don't want to speak too much about this period of my career because it was a dark side. I don't want to speak right now about it," he said.He conceded his hopes against Djokovic were limited, suggesting his best hope was to "irritate" the Wimbledon champion.He was joined in the last eight by another German, Phillip Kohlschreiber who defeated Brian Baker of the US 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Baker has been the human interest story of the tournament, with five surgeries in six years between 2005 and 2011, during which he played just two Challenger events. He returned in 2011 to win a Futures event in Pittsburgh. He was undone by the accuracy of the Kohlschreiber serve and the solidity of the German's game. However, he was consoled by the dramatic and continual improvement in his form. "I don't know if starting first round quallies I'd have thought I'd have maybe gotten to the fourth round. But coming into the match today I hoped to have a different result, so it's still frustrating," he said. "Basically since I've been coming back it's been about the health, and now it's about the game."Kohlschreiber now faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France who beat Mardy Fish, who has made an astonishing recovery from a heart procedure, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-4."Six, eight weeks ago I wasn't sure I was able to come," said the 30-year-old American. "I didn't want to miss this tournament. Realistically I didn't think I was going to be able to come, so I'm happy to be in the fourth round or to have lost in the fourth round at least. It's not a bad result."The same positivity, perhaps more understandably, was articulated by Tsonga."I don't have an approach to pressure," he said about his quarter-final match. "I try to enjoy every moment I spend on this earth. I know there are people who suffer a lot, and I'm not suffering in any way. "I'm healthy. I play tennis in beautiful place. My family is okay. I have everything to smile about."

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Wimbledon: Men's update

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