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.
However, Britain’s dreams of a first woman in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for 29 years were shattered when Laura Robson bowed out in tears after falling to Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi. Though roared on in a closely-fought match in the 11,000-seater Court One bowl, Kanepi just had the edge in the crucial points to win their fourth round clash 7-6 (8/6), 7-5.
Robson was bidding to become the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since Jo Durie at Wimbledon in 1984. In making the fourth round at the All England Club she was the first British woman to do so since Sam Smith in 1998.
The 19-year-old world number 38 left the court in tears following the 95-minute contest. Lisicki, who plays Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi for a place in the last four, has an impressive Wimbledon record, reaching the quarter-finals 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. In men’s round, Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second successive year while Jerzy Janowicz and Lukasz Kubot set-up an all-Polish showdown for a place in the last four.
Ferrer fired 53 winners in his 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 6-1 win over Croatia’s unseeded Ivan Dodig and goes on to tackle either Argentine eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro or Andreas Seppi, the 23rd seeded Italian.
The 31-year-old Ferrer, who was defeated in the French Open final by compatriot Rafael Nadal last month, will be playing in his seventh consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final. Janowicz, the 24th seed, defeated 31-year-old Jurgen Melzer, who was hoping to become the first Austrian man to reach the last eight.
The 22-year-old Janowicz’s 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win was based on 16 aces and 34 winners as he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He was joined in the last eight just moments later when 31-year-old Kubot, the lowest-ranked player left at 130 in the world, defeated France’s 111-ranked Adrian Mannarino, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. l
