Who’s that? Not who’s who

THERE they were on the practice courts during Wimbledon’s traditional off day, all preparing for whatever week two might have in store.

Not unusual to see Novak Djokovic, a six-time grand slam champion, getting ready for the fourth round, but not far away was Jerzy Janowicz, winner of a grand total of six matches at major tournaments before this one.

No surprise that 2011 French Open champion and two-time slam runner-up Li Na was still around, but so was 19-year-old Laura Robson, the first British woman to get this far since Sam Smith in 1998.

With early exits by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and Maria Sharapova long gone, too, after a chaotic first week, the Wimbledon draws were dotted with unfamiliar names after the traditional mid-tournament break, names such as Kenny de Schepper and Adrian Mannarino, Karin Knapp and Monica Puig.

Five of the remaining 16 men were set to make their fourthround Wimbledon debuts overnight. Six have never reached a grand slam quarterfinal: de Schepper, Ivan Dodig, Janowicz, Lukasz Kubot, Mannarino and Andreas Seppi.

Perhaps not coincidentally, each of those relatively unknown half-dozen players benefited from at least one of the record-tying 13 walkovers or mid-match retirements from injury or illness so far.

Four of the 16 women left also were hoping to reach a major quarterfinal for the first time: Robson, Knapp, 19-year-old Puig, of Puerto Rico, and 20th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens, of Belgium.

Djokovic, for one, liked the idea of some players getting a chance to introduce themselves to a wider audience.

‘‘It’s interesting . . . to see new faces – for the crowd, for [the] tennis world, in general,’’ said Djokovic, who might not feel quite the same way if he were among the 11 men and women seeded in the top 10 who no longer are playing.

Truth is, there hasn’t been much variety of late in the men’s draws at grand slam tournaments, especially at the very end: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won 31 of the past 33 titles.

‘‘It’s good [to have] change, in a way, because it’s always expected, obviously, from top players to reach the final stages of major events. When it doesn’t happen, it’s a big surprise,’’ said the topseeded Djokovic, the only past Wimbledon champion left among the men.

‘‘It’s a bit [of a] strange feeling not to have Federer or Nadal at the second week of a major. In the last 10 years, it was always one of them.’’