WIMBLEDON - Germany's Sabine Lisicki ended of world No. 1 Serena Williams in three sets (6-2, 1-6, 6-4) to advance to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon on Monday.
She stole the first set 6-2, then after dropping nine straight games throughout the second and third sets, battled the top-ranked Williams to steal the final set, 6-4.
The 23-year-old Germany's Sabine Lisicki was the first to steal a set from Serena Williams all tournament, and she became the first woman to defeat Serena Williams in the past 34 matches.
| Lisicki was extremely emotional following the match, as she scored what was unquestionably the biggest win of her career. Following the match, Lisicki was so overwhelmed that she began to cry. Her comments in the aftermath certainly confirmed that, "I'm still shaking (crying) I'm so happy. Serena played a fantastic match. Such a tough opponent. Amazing feeling." The loss ended Williams' hopes of defending her Wimbledon crown and attaining her sixth tournament title. Serena Williams showed little emotion throughout the match (aside from a menacing grimace) until the final set, the first such instance where the defending champion had faced any real resistance. |
Williams said she hadn’t taken Lisicki for granted beforehand, believing instead she had been handed the toughest of the quarter finals of the tournament, having to face the German’s big serving game on grass.
Williams said, "She's always on against big players on big courts, She plays good on grass. She has a massive, massive serve, one of the biggest serves on tour. Here, always in the 120s [mph]. With the surface being faster, it's tough to break her."
Sabine Lisicki will move on to face Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, No. 46 in the world, in the quarterfinals
