Sabine shocks Serena in SW19 last sixteen

Wimbledon has been a happy hunting ground for Sabine Lisicki over the years. But in this year’s last sixteen she stalked and captured the biggest beast in the grounds, a head to mount on the wall in pride of place, above that of Kuznetsova in 2009, Li Na in 2011 and Maria Sharapova in 2012: Serena Williams.

The coincidence that in each of her last four appearances, Lisicki has beaten the reigning Roland Garros Champion is strange only in terms of the draw shaping up that way. That it should be a player like Lisicki is not strange at all. Few players on the tour have a game more suited to grass than the German. A high risk game glistening with big serves, silky quick steps and flat drives, it flows and shines like a sun struck stream when on and jars and creaks like a door in need of oiling when off.

And when on, it is very hard, on grass, to turn off. Especially if you have been nurturing your game to succeed on the clay. Two weeks is simply not enough to be up against Lisicki on her favorite surface and in the mood to do some stalking, mounting and beheading. Lisicki came out firing, breaking early and holding serve to take the first set. Such a performance was clearly not beyond the German but delivering it when up against Serena had seemed unlikely considering the world number one’s recent form.

The shock of dropping the first set having sunk in, Serena started to play like the woman being argued as the Greatest player of all time since winning her second Roland Garros title. Her face frozen, she raced through the second set, forcing her opponent into error and knocking her of the fine form she had found, and led by a break in third. Normal business seemed in order.

But Lisicki loves the Center Court at Wimbledon and fuelled by memories and desire, she broke back. Once again Serena broke. And once again Lisicki fought. With both women fighting their hardest, the rallies grew in intensity and spirit and the crowd lived through every point, as caught up in the will of both players as the players themselves.

At 4-4, Lisicki broke Serena once more to serve for the match. The German did not blink. The shock of the tournament, quite a status considering the upsets that have befallen the SW19 favorites, rang out through the center court as the Umpire announced the score of 6-2 1-6 6-4 in Lisicki’s favor. The popular German beamed and Serena congratulated her with the natural dignity of a five time Champion, the ignominy of losing early in a tournament she was the odds on favorite to win erased by the smiling Lisicki’s career-making performance. The world number one waited for Lisicki to pack her racket case and the two exited the court, Serena leaving first, leaving Lisicki to enjoy the victory and sign a plethora of signable surfaces from balls to programs to T-Shirts.

Lisicki’s name, in a draw now absent of Serena, Sharapova and Azarenka, might find itself engraved somewhere else come next Saturday: the Venus Rosewater dish. Her history at Wimbledon means such a result would not be too surprising. Of course, she still has three matches to clear before that dream would be fulfilled. The first obstacle, Estonia’s Kanepi, is also armed with weapons and a mindset to succeed on grass but does not have the same level of experience and will probably find herself mounted on a wall along with all the other hunted heads of Lisicki.