Lisicki beats Ana in on-off tussle
2 July 2014 5:25 AM IST
Sabine Lisicki, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, finally downed former world number one Ana Ivanovic on Monday to give herself a place in the last 16 this time around. In a match called off for bad light on Saturday, and then interrupted by rain early on Monday, the German 19th seed eventually beat the Serbian 11th seed 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 on Court One.
She faces Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals. ‘I always have a first here at Wimbledon so it was quite fitting to have the match suspended due to darkness, not play on the Sunday, come back, play, rain and then finish it. Finally we did it,’ Lisicki said. ‘It was a good match. She (Ivanovic) is such a good player. I was ready and she hit amazing winners when we came out the first time and then the rain came in and then I think we were both hitting the winners.’
She said she could not wait to face Shvedova, the world number 65. ‘She is playing well on grass, has a big serve so I have to be ready so I’m looking forward to having another match. The fans make me feel so good here. It feels like being at home. Their cheering gives me so much energy. It’s just fun,’ the hard-hitting German said. Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova swept into the quarterfinals at the All England Club with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of China’s Peng Shuai on Monday. Czech sixth seed Kvitova, who won the title in 2011 with victory against Maria Sharapova, routed world number 61 Peng in just one hour on Court Two. The 24-year-old, who has now reached the last eight at Wimbledon for five successive years, will play unseeded compatriot Barbora Zahlavova Strycova for a place in the semifinals.
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova claimed another famous scalp at Wimbledon as the unseeded Czech moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki. Zahlavova Strycova, the world number 43, had enjoyed the best win of her career in the previous round when she defeated Chinese second seed Li Na and she added Danish 16th seed Wozniacki to her list of upsets, converting a sixth match point to move into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time at the 32nd attempt. The 28-year-old, who served a six-month ban for doping last year, will play Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, or China’s Peng Shuai for a place in the semifinals. Zahlavova Strycova, 28, broke in the second game of the fourth round tie and took the first set in emphatic fashion. Wozniacki was on the back foot again in the second set and, although she managed to save five match points, Zahlavova Strycova finally closed out another memorable triumph at the sixth attempt.
The Dane’s defeat leaves her still waiting for a first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance since the 2012 Australian Open and continues her disappointing form following golfer Rory McIlroy’s decision to break off their engagement prior to her first round loss at the French Open. Zahlavova Strycova was joined in the last eight by compatriot Lucie Safarova as the 23rd seed ended the fairytale run of teenager Tereza Smitkova, the lowest ranked woman left in the tournament, with a ruthless 6-0, 6-2 victory.
World number 175 Smitkova, also from the Czech Republic, had enjoyed an impressive first ever Grand Slam appearance, knocking out three higher ranked opponents. But the 19-year-old’s attempt to become only the seventh qualifier to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals was shattered as Safarova raced through in just 47 minutes. Safarova can look forward to her first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance, which will also be the 27-year-old’s first last-eight clash at a Grand Slam since 2007. Her opponent will be either Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, beaten by Serena Williams in the 2012 Wimbledon final, or Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova.
She faces Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals. ‘I always have a first here at Wimbledon so it was quite fitting to have the match suspended due to darkness, not play on the Sunday, come back, play, rain and then finish it. Finally we did it,’ Lisicki said. ‘It was a good match. She (Ivanovic) is such a good player. I was ready and she hit amazing winners when we came out the first time and then the rain came in and then I think we were both hitting the winners.’
She said she could not wait to face Shvedova, the world number 65. ‘She is playing well on grass, has a big serve so I have to be ready so I’m looking forward to having another match. The fans make me feel so good here. It feels like being at home. Their cheering gives me so much energy. It’s just fun,’ the hard-hitting German said. Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova swept into the quarterfinals at the All England Club with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of China’s Peng Shuai on Monday. Czech sixth seed Kvitova, who won the title in 2011 with victory against Maria Sharapova, routed world number 61 Peng in just one hour on Court Two. The 24-year-old, who has now reached the last eight at Wimbledon for five successive years, will play unseeded compatriot Barbora Zahlavova Strycova for a place in the semifinals.
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova claimed another famous scalp at Wimbledon as the unseeded Czech moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki. Zahlavova Strycova, the world number 43, had enjoyed the best win of her career in the previous round when she defeated Chinese second seed Li Na and she added Danish 16th seed Wozniacki to her list of upsets, converting a sixth match point to move into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time at the 32nd attempt. The 28-year-old, who served a six-month ban for doping last year, will play Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, or China’s Peng Shuai for a place in the semifinals. Zahlavova Strycova, 28, broke in the second game of the fourth round tie and took the first set in emphatic fashion. Wozniacki was on the back foot again in the second set and, although she managed to save five match points, Zahlavova Strycova finally closed out another memorable triumph at the sixth attempt.
The Dane’s defeat leaves her still waiting for a first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance since the 2012 Australian Open and continues her disappointing form following golfer Rory McIlroy’s decision to break off their engagement prior to her first round loss at the French Open. Zahlavova Strycova was joined in the last eight by compatriot Lucie Safarova as the 23rd seed ended the fairytale run of teenager Tereza Smitkova, the lowest ranked woman left in the tournament, with a ruthless 6-0, 6-2 victory.
World number 175 Smitkova, also from the Czech Republic, had enjoyed an impressive first ever Grand Slam appearance, knocking out three higher ranked opponents. But the 19-year-old’s attempt to become only the seventh qualifier to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals was shattered as Safarova raced through in just 47 minutes. Safarova can look forward to her first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance, which will also be the 27-year-old’s first last-eight clash at a Grand Slam since 2007. Her opponent will be either Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, beaten by Serena Williams in the 2012 Wimbledon final, or Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova.
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