The name Sabine Lisicki was on every tennis lover’s lips 51 weeks ago. Now, many wonder, “Sabine who?”
In Wimbledon 2013, she was known as the Serena slayer, after she defeated the champion and top seed Serena Williams in the fourth round.
Seeded 23, little known German Lisicki had beaten Australia’s Samantha Stosur in the third round before toppling Serena.
To prove this was not a fluke, Sabine beat higher ranked Agnieszka Radwanska (who is seeded no. 4 for this year’s Wimbledon) in a semi final classic lasting 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Sabine eventually lost to Marion Bartoli in straight sets in the final.
Unfortunately, Bartoli will not defend her title this Wimbledon because of an arm injury.
“Literally, I cannot even lift my arm every morning”, she said. She will be the first woman in 17 years not to defend her Wimbledon title.
Born in Germany on 22 September, 1989, Sabine turned professional in 2006. Now she resides in USA. She entered Wimbledon 2011 as a wild card and reached the semi final, losing to the glamorous and screeching Maria Sharapova.
Sabine became the second woman in Wimbledon history to reach semi final after entering as a wild card. And she became the first German to enter a major final since Steffi Graf at Wimbledon in 1999.
Wimbledon has been a favourite stomping ground for Sabine, making the semi-finals in 2011, quarter final in 2012 and final in 2013. She was also doubles finalist at Wimbledon in 2010.
Now coached by Martina Hingis, will Sabine survive until next week? Seeded 19 and ranked 18, her first round opponent is Julia Glushko of Israel, ranked 82.
Although appearing sweet, Sabine has a big serve and forehand. She plays tennis like a boxer, going bang-bang, especially on grass. Ask Serena Williams!
Interest here is more on how Australia’s big hope, Samantha Stosur, seeded 17, will fare at Wimbledon. Will she wiggle her nose like Samantha Stevens of the TV Bewitched fame to cause an upset or three?
More puzzling is the form of seed no. 1 Serena Williams. She is 32 and her form in major tournaments this year is comparable to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s since 2011. This year she lost in the third round of Australian Open and in the second round of the French Open.
When asked how long it took her to get over the French Open loss, she replied after a long pause, “Who says I’m over it?”
But like Tendulkar, she is a champion and will play like a tigress to prove her doubters wrong. After all, she has won Wimbledon five times and she is passionate about winning five more to break Czech and USA legend Martina Navratilova’s record of nine Wimbledon ladies singles titles.
Among current players, male or female, Serena Williams holds the most major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined. Her record of 32 major titles puts her seventh on the all-time list: 17 in singles, 13 in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles.
She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously (2002–03), and only the fifth woman ever to do so. She is also the most recent player, together with her sister Venus, to have held all four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles simultaneously (2009–10).
Serena’s total of 17 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list, and fourth in the Open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Navratilova (18 titles each). She has won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Venus Williams.
According to Wikipedia, the arrival of Venus and Serena Williams has been credited with launching a new era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. Will the Williams sisters continue their winning ways in the next fortnight?
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