World No. 1 and American, Serena Williams has become yet another shock exit from Wimbledon 2013, after she suffered a defeat to 23rd seed German Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round.
Williams was the clear favorite for the championship, as she aimed for her sixth title win at Wimbledon. But to the surprise of everyone, the relentless Lisicki, who thrives at Wimbledon, came out as victor (6-2, 1-6, 6-4) on Centre Court.
Williams follows other ‘big’ names such as Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in unexpectedly early exits from the tournament.
She stated after the match to BBC Sport “It’s not a shock”, however, the majority will disagree. She was paying respect to Lisicki, who with all respect, was not expected to win.
“She plays really good on grass. She has a massive, massive serve, so going in there you have to know that it’s definitely not going to be an easy match playing her at Wimbledon, especially on Centre Court. “It’s definitely not a shock. I just need to do better.”
For Lisicki she now heads into the last eight of the tournament for what will be her fourth occasion. She struggled to complete her interview post match, with the sheer emotion of such a feat evident. The women’s championship this year has been well and truly blown open for someone who didn’t expect to be in with a shot of winning. She has now been given a real opportunity to create history. Lisicki told BBC Sport:
“Serena played fantastically all match. She is such a tough opponent. It’s just an amazing feeling to win this match. The crowd were amazing, thanks to them for their support. They were amazing. I love this court so much, it’s such a special place for me.”
During the final set it seemed Serena was on the verge of winning, but Lisicki battled on fearlessly to win in a tenacious fashion. It is only William’s third loss in the past year, and finally ends her 34 match winning streak — her best record.
Earlier in the day British 19-year-old Laura Robson suffered defeat to Kaia Kanepi. It wasn’t her best performance as she herself will admit, but her Wimbledon 2013 has been a huge step forward in terms of her success and reputation as a player. She can now build upon that with a greater confidence in her ability that will enable her to improve her game. She has a bright future. However, the William’s result makes Robson’s loss even more of a disappointment from a home crowd perspective.
In the men’s side of the tournament, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are still the favorites (at time of writing) to take the title.
Stowe Gregory is an English featured Soccer and Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him or tweet on Twitter @stowegregory. Or add to circles on Google +
