Wimbledon 2013: Talking points from Ladies final day

Sabine Lisicki of Germany cries during a post-match interview on Centre Court after her Ladies’ Singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on July 6, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Lisicki’s emotions get the better of her

For all the credit I’ve given Bartoli for her dominant win yesterday, the bigger story of the match was the almost total capitulation of Sabine Lisicki. The big favourite going into the final, Lisicki’s game warranted that title but her play in the final is the reason she isn’t a top 10 player.

Error after error after error; it was almost painful to watch a player we all know can play such good tennis fall to pieces in front of the glaring eyes of the world when it really mattered the most. But in fairness, to be a top class tennis player, you have to be able to control your emotions when the situation demands it.

The image of Lisicki beginning to wipe away tears from her eyes after Bartoli broke another of her fragile service games was sad, but from a purely objective point of view that is a criminal act for a tennis player to commit. Not only does that give a massive boost to your opponent in the match but it also signals to the rest of the locker room that if you put this girl under pressure, she will most likely crack.

I’ve touched on Lisicki’s frailties throughout this fortnight but credit to her she’s always proved me wrong, up until now. Can she go one step further in the future and actually win that glorious trophy? Well she’s played her best tennis a lot more consistently than she previously has in the past three years.

But I still feel that when the chips are down and the pressure is really on her than she’ll crack. Like most girls who have very powerful games like Petra Kvitova or Laura Robson, if she is not at the races it is very unpleasant on the eye to watch ball after ball go long, who skew into the tramlines.

Give someone like Agnieszka Radwanska credit. She may not hit as many winners but at least she gets the ball in play. Sharapova has shown in the past what a strong mind can do to a woman’s game. She never gave up after her debilitating shoulder injury and after years of graft, she returned to the summit of women’s tennis.

Lisicki must learn the importance of this and she must master her emotions as quickly as possible if wants to forget about the worst day of her professional career. If she can do that than I’m sure she has the game to win a Wimbledon title. But that’s a big IF.