10 Things You May Not Know About Jerzy Janowicz

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10 Things You May Not Know About Jerzy Janowicz

By Erik Gudris

(November 1, 2012) -- By saving a match point and then going on to defeat Andy Murray at the Paris Masters, Poland's Jerzy Janowicz not only earned the biggest win of his career but also "player to watch" status for 2013. But how much do you know about this rising young talent on the ATP Tour?

1. Lodz Lad: Janowicz was born on November 13th, 1990 and raised in Lodz, Poland. He continues to make it his official residence.

2. Early Days: Janowicz started playing tennis at age five with his parents who were both professional volleyball players but then retired from the sport and took up tennis.

3. Junior Success: Before turning pro, Janowicz reached two Grand Slam singles finals as a junior. In 2007, he reached the Boys Finals of the U.S. Open where he lost to Ricardas Berankis and in 2008 he got to the Boys Finals at Roland Garros before losing to Yang Tsung-Hua.

4. ATP Highlights: Turning pro in 2007, Janowicz has found most of his success on the Challenger circuit where he has won four titles. In 2012, Janowicz started the year outside of the top 200 but won three events on the circuit including Rome, Scheveningen, and Poznan, Poland and also reached the finals of Wolfsburg, Germany. His best result at a Major was reaching the third round of Wimbledon where he lost to Florian Mayer. His record this year on the main tour is 15-15.

5. Davis Cup Duty: Janowicz has played for his country's Davis Cup team several times including in 2012. He currently holds a 5-1 record in singles.

6. Bercy Bracket Buster: At the BNP Paribas Masters in Bercy, Janowicz came out of qualifying and then beat Philipp Kohlschrieber and then Marin Cilic before facing Murray in the third round. Janowicz will now face Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals, making him the first Polish man to reach that stage at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

7. Playing Style: Janowicz, who stands 6'8" tall, can hit a massive serve followed up by his favorite forehand shot. But Janowicz also has fine touch from all parts of the court.

8. In His Own Words: "That's the most unbelievable day in my life. That's an unbelievable feeling," said Janowicz about winning over Murray. "I was fighting my whole life with money, so this week is really important for me to get some sponsors, to get some help. I had really tough moments in my life, and this is like really, like movie for me."

9. Tennis Idols: Janowicz says that Pete Sampras is his tennis idol, probably because of his serve. He admits he was very unhappy when Sampras retired and it took him awhile to get over it.

10. Off-Court: When not on the courts, Janowicz on ATP.com says that he likes computers and computer games and says he is very good with computers in general.

(Photo Credit: BNP Paribas Masters/FFT)