The lovely Lisicki. Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images via Daylife
The moment of Wimbledon Day 4 for me: 122 mph out wide. That serve was hit by wild card Sabine Lisicki in the fourth game of her three-set upset over third seed Li Na. I loved the “Whooo!” from the crowd and the little smile she threw up to her box after smoking that ace. Yes, it was awesome. No, I can’t find it on any of the highlight videos, but these highlights are pretty good, too.
Sabine hit 17 aces in the match.
Lisicki lost the first set to the French Open champ – Li played incredible – and saved two match points in the third to get the victory. Sabine cried afterwards. I’d shed a tear for Li, except she’s a bit of an escape artist, herself. Bottom line, it was a great match by two fab players not named Venus, Serena, Maria or Kim. It was a real win for those who insist that there’s real depth in women’s tennis. Whatever, I just really enjoyed watching it with my cheap white wine after work. (It’s 11:30pm, L.A. time, and I haven’t even got to Roger yet.)
I’m a big fan of Boom Boom Lisicki. I loved her ever since I watched her make her first title run at the Family Circle Cup in 2009, beating Venus Williams along the way. Yes, I’m doing the ol’ “I’ve been a fan since. . .” routine – a sure sign she’s got star power. Anyone else think she’s the real deal?
Loading ...Speaking of rising talent, I’m enjoying what I’m seeing from Baby Fed, Jr. Grigor Dimitrov, though he did take the first set from my guy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today. It will be fun to see what he can do over the rest of the season.
Serena Williams played on Court 2 today, needing three sets to win over Simona “Who?” Halep. I was worried for her this morning – I caught the first set – and admit that I had the graveyard court curse in the back of my mind. Maybe she did too, as she revealed after the match that she was none too pleased with her court assignment (via iafrica.com):
“They like to put us on Court 2, me and Venus, for whatever reason. I haven’t figured it out yet. Maybe one day we’ll figure it out,” said Serena.
“They (Nadal and Djokovic) are never moved across. Actually, Venus and I have won more Wimbledons together than a lot of the players or by ourselves in doubles even.
“I don’t make it a big issue, but I think at some point maybe I should.”
I think she has a point. Do you?
