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Sabine Lisicki of Germany celebrates victory during the Ladies? Singles semi final match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)
Lisicki shows her mettle
Before her match against Agnieszka Radwanska, we always assumed that it would be down to how Sabine Liscki played to determine the victor. Would it be the Lisicki that beat Serena Williams or the Lisicki who lets her emotions get the better of her that showed up on Centre Court? We got both.
For the first set, Lisicki’s powerful serve was working perfectly. She didn’t face a single break point and took it with aplomb 6-4. But then she showed why she’s struggled to break into the world’s top 20 players, self destructing a break up in the second.
She lost nine straight games with errors spewing off her racket while Radwanska’s mental toughness forced the German onto the backfoot again. All credit to Lisicki who refused to go away and just like against Williams, come crunch time in the third set, she stopped missing.
She outgunned the Pole from that point on-wards and although she was broken whilst serving for the match, Lisicki finally broke through at 7-7 and this time, made no mistake.
I must admit, I didn’t think Lisicki would be able to do this. She has the ability on grass to take one or two big name scalps but she always run out of steam come the later rounds. This time when the pressure got to her – when it would have been easy to think back to those earlier defeats – she recovered admirably and her power game returned.
Her always emotional fan-friendly game has new added steel behind it and that combination could be enough for her to win her first Grand Slam.
Bartoli will be no pushover
It’s not often that a two time Grand Slam finalist goes into a final the more experienced player. That is just the situation that Marion Bartoli finds herself in at Wimbledon 2013. The Frenchwoman completely destroyed her overwhelmed opponent, Kirsten Flipkens, 6-1 6-2.
The Belgian was overawed by the occasion, struggled with injury and faced an opponent in the form of her life. All not good omens if you want to progress.
Bartoli herself said that she saw the ball like a football and it showed. She hit 23 winners in just 15 games and her topspin lob was especially effective against the desperate Belgian. This sort of mixture between power and touch will be crucial if she is to best Lisicki.
The German is understandably the favourite for the final. She has beaten better opposition than Bartoli on her way to the final and has the better ‘match winning’ game. But the way Bartoli played in her semi-final, she will be able to pounce on a loose ball much better than Radwanska did.
She’ll also hit more unforced errors than the Pole but Lisicki will have to show the same mental toughness to take advantage.
Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland reacts during the Ladies? Singles semi final match against Sabine Lisicki of Germany on day ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)
How long until Radwanska gets a better chance?
For a player that has been ranked in the top four of the women’s game for 18 months, Radwanska is always criminally overlooked when it comes to major contenders. Yesterday was yet another example of why that is.
She was outhit again by a powerful shot maker, who just had too much for her consistent game. Radwanska only made 10 unforced errors in the entire match but still came out a loser.
The worst part is that she will most likely never get a better opportunity. Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, her chief tormentors, were all missing from the semi-finals this year. She just had to overcome an inconsistent yet massive hitter in Lisiscki to reach the final, where the Pole would face Bartoli, a strong opponent but someone who she would expect to beat.
Despite being a break up in the third, she couldn’t get the job done. Radwanska is a bit like David Ferrer: great consistent players who will make a tennis player’s life hell on court but can be blasted out when it really matters.
This means that their chances of ever winning a Grand Slam are slim to none. The chances of all the top three women being absent from the semi-finals in the next 18 months are equally slim and although Serena may not have long left in her career, new teenage starlets like Sloane Stephens, Laura Robson and Madison Keys will be coming through with just as strong games.
It may be a long time in the future before the likeable Pole will get a better shot at winning a major.
