LONDON, England, July 2 – Sabine Lisicki insists there is no chance complacency will ruin her dream of a first Wimbledon title as the German looks to follow her stunning win over Serena Williams with more success in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Lisicki booked her fourth appearance in the last eight with the performance of a lifetime as the 23rd seed ended Williams’s reign as Wimbledon champion with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory on Monday.
The 23-year-old’s epic triumph was the latest in a series of unlikely wins for the underdogs at the All England Club this year.
Williams followed second seed Victoria Azarenka and world number three Maria Sharapova out of the tournament, leaving it wide open for a relatively unheralded player like Lisicki to take the crown.
And Lisicki, who reached the semi-finals in 2011 but has never been past the fourth round at any other Grand Slam, is determined not to rest on her laurels against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi as she eyes a place in the last four.
“It feels very good. Obviously I went into the match feeling that I could win,” she said.
“I played very good in the first three matches and I felt ready for this match.
“I found my rhythm again. I hope I can keep it up. I’m already focused for tomorrow.”
Kanepi shattered Britain’s dreams of a first woman in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for 29 years, beating unseeded Laura Robson 7-6 (8/6), 7-5.
Former champion Petra Kvitova booked her fourth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final appearance with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.
Czech eighth seed Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011, overpowered the Spanish 19th seed with 23 winners and will face Belgian 20th seed Kirsten Flipkens.
As the highest seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw, Kvitova has a golden opportunity to reach her second Grand Slam final.
“Everybody is saying that because I’m highest seeded player in my half, I’m supposed to be already in the final. That’s not really easy to hear,” she said.
“It’s still quite open. The girls in this round are in good form. I’m not thinking about 2011. It’s a different time.”
Flipkens, the 2003 junior champion, sealed her first Grand Slam quarter-final berth with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 victory against Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta.
The 27-year-old, who had failed to get past the third round in five previous Wimbledon appearances, appeared overwhelmed by her success as she crouched down to kiss the grass before wiping away tears as she waved to the crowd.
Chinese sixth seed Li Na raced into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci.
The 2011 French Open champion took just 55 minutes to win, matching her Wimbledon best, having made the quarter-finals in 2006 and 2010.
“My coach said this was a match I should win and if I can come to the quarter-final, tomorrow is a bonus. I really want to cash the bonus,” Li said.
Next up for Li is Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, last year’s runner-up, who is now the highest ranked player left after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.
“Every match is a different story. It doesn’t matter what ranking they having,” Radwanska said.
“I always have tight matches against Li. Definitely I’ll have to play aggressive and really good tennis to beat her.”
American 17th seed Sloane Stephens reached her first quarter-final after battling back to beat Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Stephens next faces French 15th seed Marion Bartoli, the runner-up in 2007, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win against Karin Knapp, the Italian world number 104.
Williams tipped Stephens to win the title now she is out, but the 20-year-old isn’t counting her chickens just yet.
“That’s very nice of her but I have a couple more matches to go till that happens,” she said.
“It’s been a crazy Wimbledon…I’m going to try.”
