Sabine Lisicki ended Serena Williams’ reign as Wimbledon champion as the German 23rd seed clinched a stunning 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory over the world number one in the fourth round on Monday. Lisicki, who plays Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi for a place in the last four, has an impressive Wimbledon record, reaching the quarterfinals three times and the last four in 2011, but this incredible upset on Centre Court was by far her greatest achievement at the All England Club.
The 23-year-old has failed to make it past the fourth round in 16 Grand Slam appearances outside Wimbledon, but she comes alive on the grass-courts of south-west London. “I’m still shaking, I’m so happy”, said Lisicki, breaking into tears.“Serena played a fantastic match. She’s such a tough opponent and it’s just an amazing feeling to win. “The crowd was so amazing. I love this court so much, it’s such a special place for me.
“I did enjoy it. She played some unbelievable shots. I was just fighting for every single point and hanging in there. Her remarkable victory was no fluke. Despite facing the most ferocious hitter in the history of women’s tennis, Lisicki matched Serena blow for blow, unloading more winners and serving more aces than the five-time Wimbledon champion in two hours and four minutes of high drama. In a tournament most memorable this year for the fall of its biggest stars, this was arguably the most astonishing result of all.
Britain’s Laura Robson was beaten by Kaia Kanepi in the fourth round at Wimbledon, going down to the Estonian 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 on Court One. Chinese sixth seed Li Na raced into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci on Monday.
In contrast to her topsy-turvy two previous matches, which both went to three sets, the 2011 French Open champion took just 55 minutes to get past her fourth round opponent. Former champion Petra Kvitova booked her fourth consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro on Monday.
Czech eighth seed Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011, overpowered Spanish 19th seed Suarez Navarro with 23 winners and will face Belgian 20th seed Kirsten Flipkens for a place in the semi-finals. Agnieszka Radwanska secured a Wimbledon quarter-final spot after fighting back to beat Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the fourth round
Meanwhile, David Ferrer wore down Croatia’s Ivan Dodig with his high-energy scrambling to move into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-1, 6-1 win on Monday. Eighth seed Juan Martin Del Potro muscled his way into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a powerful 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi on Monday.
Andy Murray survived some nervous moments to beat Mikhail Youzhny and reach the quarter-finals on another day of drama at Wimbledon. The second seed won 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to make the last eight for the sixth year in a row at the All England Club.
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France entered the Wimbledon men’s doubles quarterfinals. The Indo-French 14th seeds upset third seeded Austrian-Brazil pair Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in two hours and 17 minutes. They will next take on sixth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Daniel Nestor in the last eight clash.