Sensational Lisicki shocks Serena in another stunning Wimbledon upset

Not to be outdone, the irked Serena torn into her opponent like a wounded lioness to win eight games in a row from 1-1 in the second set to establish a seeming stranglehold on the match and her devastated victim. The first set was a competitive affair that lasted 44 minutes; the second was a breezy 27 minute affair that left Lisicki wondering if she was in the wrong profession.

Serena Williams

At 3-0 in the final set, logic suggested there was only one plausible result. The talented yet inconsistent German figured she had nothing to lose too. It was possibly that sense of liberation that allowed Lisicki to ambush Serena in the fifth game to somehow find a way back from 40-15 to find the break that kept her alive.

One break turned into three as Serena lost her momentum and Lisicki powered herself back into the match with some lusty hitting off both flanks. The match was suddenly on an even keel when Lisicki managed to stave off three break points in the eighth game, before holding her own.

The ninth game was a compendium of dramatic moments as Lisicki raised her game at the most opportune time to match her seasoned opponent stroke for stroke. Serena saved two break points, but could not prevent the break when she floundered to send a backhand volley long. It was the fifth break of the third set, affording the German an opportunity to serve for the match.

Lisicki managed to inch her nose in front with a big serve at 30-30 to gain her first match point. But with Serena on the attack, she sent a forehand long to fall back to deuce. A double fault on the next point gave Serena a thread back into the contest, but an ace down the middle snapped it just as quickly.

Lisicki showed great heart, pulling out a big serve to gain a second match point. The German scored a sensational upset when she took advantage of short ball from Serena to clinch the match with a forehand winner, before collapsing to the court in a sobbing fit of disbelief and joy.

When the German takes on Kaia Kanepi in the quarters on Wednesday, it will be only her second appearance in the last eight of a grand slam tournament. But the last time she reached there, she defeated Marion Bartoli in three sets to reach the semi-finals.

On the evidence of today, if she can get over the obvious joy of eliminating Williams, Lisicki has a golden opportunity staring in the face for the remainder of what could prove to be the defining week of her life.