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“Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great” – Machiavelli.
The Wimbledon story for the past 9 days has been a tale of unwavering willpower, sheer determination and everlasting hope. The so-called underdogs have risen to find their moments in the sunshine and have slain the heavily favoured past champions.
As we arrive on the semifinals day, we look at a classic quartet of audacious women, three of whom nobody had bet on when the Championships began. Four women who have never etched their names on a Grand Slam trophy will be chasing an impossible dream, and this is an unprecedented event in the Open Era. Which two of these fighters will inch closer to that surreal moment?
Sabine Lisicki (23) v Agnieszka Radwanska (4) (Head-to-head: They are tied at 1-1)
Sabine Lisicki is the fearless girl with a Midas touch on grass. Her Wimbledon resume has a scintillating 18-4 record and is in stark contrast with her record at other Slams which stands at a pale 16-15. But what surely stands out is the fact that the 23-year-old German has remarkably obliterated every reigning French Open champion she has come across since 2009 and that also includes snapping the 34-match winning streak of the mighty Serena Williams.
Few days back nobody was willing to look past the formidable American but arriving on the ladies semifinals day, a German dream seems realistic for many now, including Sabine’s illustrious compatriot Steffi Graf. Twice this Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy protégé has reached the quarters, and this is now her second time in the semis.
Even though her year has so far looked mediocre, Lisicki has had a fresh approach coming into her most favourite tournament after joining forces with Kim Clijsters‘s former coach Wim Fissette. The results are evident – the ever-smiling exuberant girl is oozing of confidence and moving better than ever.
But will that be enough to guarantee her a place in her first ever major final? She locks horns with a woman who is the highest ranked player left in the draw. She has been far more consistent all year having won 2 titles and has reached the last two major quarters.
Besides, the Polish No. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska has another advantage working in her favour – she has the experience of being in a Slam final, having already tasted it at last year’s summit clash at this very revered Slam. She has yet more incentive. If the Pole goes on to clinch the Venus Rosewater Dish, she will be the first woman to capture the junior and the senior Slam since Amelie Mauresmo’s triumphs in 1996 and 2006 respectively.
Agnieszka Radwanska
The Krakow resident has quietly carried on with her versatile style and brought it to the top echelons of the game now. If Lisicki has power, she has court craft; if the German tries to bewilder her with low returns she can answer them back with her trademark squatting shot.
She has the finesse, the speed and the resistance to stay with Lisicki in the rallies. But in her quarter-final match against Li Na she appeared to have injured her leg. And she also might appear to get weary as she has already spent three hours more in the middle than her opponent.
Plus, if Lisicki serves as consistently as she has been doing for most of the tournament, Aga’s beguiling brand of tennis might not be enough to defuse it.
Prediction: Lisicki wins in three sets.
Kirsten Flipkens (20) v Marion Bartoli (15) (Head-to-head: First meeting)
Kirsten Flipkens
The Belgian Kirsten Flipkens’s story is a heartfelt tale of incredible self-belief and indomitable spirit. Of all the four semifinalists, she is the only one without a grasscourt title to her name, in spite of reaching the Rosmalen final just the week before Wimbledon.
Not surprisingly, she is the most unexpected semifinalist this year at the Big W, and she validates it when she says, “I think I’m the most surprising name in the last four, but I don’t really care!”
Yes, this indifference and never-say-die attitude are what brought her this far despite not heeding doctors’ warnings to give up tennis. In April 2012, four blood clots were discovered in her calves, and her time away from the Tour to heal herself saw her ranking plummeting to 262.
Subsequently the Belgian Tennis Federation stopped her funds, and she was left in dire need of support. Belgian tennis great Kim Clijsters took her under her wings and turned into her part-time coach.
After enduring the hardships of not being able to play even qualifying for Wimbledon last year, a semifinal appearance is a fitting reward for this former junior Wimbledon champion who can also emulate Mauresmo’s feat if she wins the title.
She can chip and charge, and confidently hit aces on match points like she did against 2011 winner Petra Kvitova in her quarter-final. An array of slices, lobs and dropshots form an inextricable part of her game, but she will come up against some raw power in this match.
Marion Bartoli is one of the hardest-hitters on the Tour with flat strokes which makes her apt for making merry on the grass. She is feisty, and her two-handed strokes off both flanks bring back flashes of Monica Seles.
Marion Bartoli
It has been a quiet year so far for the French No. 1 with her struggles to arrive to a stable coaching relationship. Now she has Bernard Tomic‘s former hitting partner Thomas Drouet in her team and is being helped by Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon. Returning to the Slam where she has the best memories, she is slowly coming alive and her win over Sloane Stephens in the last-eight stage was her first top 20 victory this season.
If she needs more inspiration she can go back and check her own resume which will display her two sterling achievements – triumphs over Justine Henin and Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
But reaching her second Wimbledon final might after all become an arduous task as she comes up against a player with fleeting movement and loads of variety who can expose Bartoli’s comparatively lethargic footwork.
Prediction: Flipkens wins in three sets.
