German Sabine Lisicki built on her stunning Wimbledon fourth-round victory over unbeatable Serena Williams, world No.1 and defending champion, by taking out fellow powerful server Kaia Kanepi.
The 23rd-seeded Lisicki started the match by breaking Kanepi and straightforwardly went on to win the set. In the third game of the second set three double faults cost Lisicki her service game, but she got back on track by breaking back right away and winning four of the next five games for a 6-3 6-3 victory and a spot in her second Wimbledon semifinals.
Kanepi holds many firsts for Estonia: first Estonian to reach a WTA final (2006 Hasselt), to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal (2008 French Open), to crack Top 20 (February 2009), to win a WTA title (2010 Palermo) and to beat a reigning No.1 (Caroline Wozniacki in 2011), but she’ll have to wait to become the first player from her country to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam, having fallen to 0-5 in Grand Slam quarters. At Wimbledon 2010, Kanepi failed to capitalize on her match points against Petra Kvitova in the final eight.
Lisicki’s semifinal opponent will be the winner of the match between No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.6 Li Na, which is now played under the roof because of rain. (photo: Moo’s Tennis Blog)
I’ve watched Lisicki play close up at court level. She’s an awesome player.