Sabine Lisicki crushes Kaia Kanepi to reach Wimbledon semi-finals, Five years ago, an 18-year-old Sabine Lisicki qualified for the Australian Open, upset Russia's Dinara Safina in the first round and promptly announced that she intended to be world No1.The German has a long way to go to come good on her bold statement, but on Tuesday her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia put her into the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the second time in the past four years.
Having upended the defending champion, Serena Williams, in arguably the biggest shock of a tournament of shocks on Monday, there was a fear that the German would experience the kind of let-down that so often follows a surprise victory. But the No23 seed was calm throughout and mixed her natural power with a delicate touch to see off the world No46, setting up a clash with last year's runner-up, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
"After the win over Serena, I knew from past experience that I needed to make the switch quickly to be ready for today," Lisicki said. "That's what I did and I'm very pleased. I think the experience I had of being in the quarters here three times before helped me a lot."
Matching the intensity of her match with Williams, the world No1, was always going to be tough. Though Kanepi had played four grand slam quarter-finals it was her first at Wimbledon and, as she began nervously, there were more groans than cheers. Lisicki looked switched-on but Kanepi's inconsistent ball-toss betrayed her lack of composure and the German broke in the first game.
Kanepi, who had beaten Britain's Laura Robson in the previous round, possesses as much power as Lisicki but can be hugely erratic – when she misses, it tends to be by a long way – and the German's greater consistency and variety helped her take the opening set thanks to a second break.
A dip from Lisicki allowed Kanepi to break for a 2-1 lead in the second but a double-fault handed the break straight back. From then on, Kanepi's belief slipped away and two backhand errors gave Lisicki a cushion as she forged ahead 5-2. Kanepi held to force Lisicki to serve it out but after missing two match points the German held her nerve on the third, clinching victory with a drive volley into the open court.
For a country so used to success in the era of Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Michael Stich, the arrival of Lisicki was a huge boost for German tennis. The daughter of Polish parents and a product of the famed Nick Bollettieri academy in Florida, Lisicki has had something of a love-hate relationship with the German media, who felt the No1 claim was too arrogant for someone who had yet to really achieve anything.
But she has come a long way since, despite a serious ankle injury sustained at the US Open in 2009, when she had to leave the court in a wheelchair, a recurring problem which forced her to miss Wimbledon in 2010. She reached the semi-finals here in 2011 and the last eight 12 months ago and has been a fans' favourite this fortnight.
"Three years ago, when I couldn't walk, I had to learn how to walk again and that made me appreciate every single moment out there a lot more," she said.
Being one match away from a first grand slam final would make most players nervous but Lisicki said she was feeling good. "I know how it is to be in the semis. I know the different atmosphere. Everything starts to get empty in the locker room and it's a completely different feeling. But I feel fresher, fitter, better than two years ago."
As for Kanepi, the 28-year-old said she was encouraged by reaching the last eight after her own injury problems and had no regrets about the way she went out. "I think I played better yesterday [against Robson] and I didn't play that well today. But she played well. I tried to attack, in previous matches I hit winners and did well but today I was missing a lot. On grass there is no plan B. I just have to go for my shots. If there is a ball, I have to hit it."
Title: Sabine Lisicki crushes Kaia Kanepi to reach Wimbledon semi-finals
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Post by 3:23 AM
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