Sharapova halted by Lisicki but fails to be surprised

The top seed, fresh from winning the French Open, looked in fine touch throughout last week and seemed to be warming to the challenge of landing a second Wimbledon title.

But while her enthusiasm never cooled, she was beaten in straight sets by heavy-hitting German Sabine Lisicki on a damp and drizzly Court One.

Her loss does not carry the same weight as Rafael Nadal’s defeat to Lukas Rosol last week – Lisicki is seeded 15th and not, like Rosol, ranked at 100th in the world.

And 25-year-old Sharapova conceded afterwards that no one is safe from defeat, no matter their ranking or reputation.

“I don’t think it’s a lesson for the players, I think it’s a lesson for the storylines,” said the Russian when asked about the shocks happening in 2012.

“We never really underestimate any opponent. If people are to be considered favourites for matches and tournaments, we will have these storylines.

“The reason we start at the first round is so you have to go through all those opponents to get to the final stage of a tournament, whether it’s a grand slam or the middle of nowhere. That’s the reason why we go out and play.

“It could be the No 1 seed against someone who has come out of the woods. It doesn’t matter, you still have to play and win. On any given day, there can be an upset. That’s the sport and that’s why we watch.”

Sharapova rarely looked like winning at any point, and was eventually condemned to a 4-6 3-6 reverse.

Lisicki’s powerful hitting and precision serving gave Sharapova little chance to get into the match and the pre-tournament favourite’s serve was broken four times in all.

Sharapova was happy to hand her the credit for the win, too, although she also took some comfort from her own achievements over the European swing of the tour, with her Roland Garros title the highlight.

“I had some chances (yesterday) but I didn’t take them. I think a lot of the credit goes to my opponent,” Sharapova said. “She played extremely well and did many things better than I did on this given day.

“You have to hand it to her.

“But I am really proud of what I have achieved. Obviously, as tough as it is after a loss, you try to take away as many positives as you can.

“Obviously you can use it as motivation. It will be nice to rest for a little bit.”

The win marked a successful revenge mission for Lisicki, who lost to Sharapova at the semi-final stage last year.

After a rain delay at the end of the first set, she took control with a second-game break in the next before serving out.

“I felt good in the first set and felt like I was hitting the balls very clean,” she said.

“When I took the first set, it obviously gave me more confidence. As soon as I got the break in the second set, I knew I was going to take it home.”

Lisicki will next meet fellow German Angelique Kerber, a winner for the loss of just two games against Kim Clijsters.

Left-hander Kerber brutally beat Clijsters 6-1 6-1 on Court Three, ending the Belgian’s hope of a first Wimbledon title in what has been her last shot at the tournament before retirement. Clijsters admits she will be sad not to return to a grand slam that has meant so much to her.

“I used to watch it on TV and you just kind of felt the magic coming through the television,” she said.

Victoria Azarenka gave an emphatic statement of her title credentials with a crushing win over Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round.

The second seed had flown under the radar during the first week but she made sure that would not be the case yesterday as she thumped Ivanovic 6-1 6-0 on Centre Court to set up a quarter-final against Tamira Paszek.

Azarenka began the year by winning 26 matches in a row, lifting her first grand slam title at the Australian Open and taking over the No 1 ranking.

The Belarusian struggled a little on clay, losing to Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round of the French Open and seeing Sharapova move above her in the rankings, but she looks to be back to her best.

She was far too good for Ivanovic, who could not cope with the power or movement of her opponent.

Azarenka was 4-0 up when play was halted because of rain and the roof was shut, but the change in conditions did not affect the pattern of the match.

Ivanovic managed to get on the board but it was only a brief respite and Azarenka refused to allow the former French Open champion a single game in the second set.

The 22-year-old will hope to repeat last year’s success over Austrian Paszek, when they also met in the quarter-finals, with Azarenka winning 6-3 6-1.

Austrian Paszek was the first woman to reach the quarter-finals as she claimed an impressive win over Roberta Vinci.

Four-time champion Serena Williams survived a stiff test on a damp and drizzly Court Two as she saw off Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1 2-6 7-5. Shvedova had recorded the first ‘golden set’ at a grand slam on Saturday, but Williams held her game together when it mattered at the end of the deciding set to progress to a 12th Wimbledon quarter-final.

Her quarter-final opponent will be defending champion Petra Kvitova who was also extended to three sets, the Czech edging past 2010 French Open winner Francesco Schiavone 4-6 7-5 6-1.

Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska eased to a 6-2 6-3 success over Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi and will play Maria Kirilenko, who beat China’s Shuai Peng in three sets.