Lisicki: I got my confidence back

 

Originally published on: 02/07/12 00:00

The bubbly German had suffered a string of defeats in the run up to her favourite tournament, losing in the first round in her last four events – in Birmingham, Paris, Rome and Strasbourg – before returning to her Florida home of Bradenton in a bid to re-discover her form.

“I didn't play well in my last tournaments but that's why I went to Florida,” said 22-year-old Lisicki. “I practiced just before Wimbledon there and I got my confidence and my shots back. I just had fun on the court again.

“I spent two hours a day on the court and just felt good. That's why I went back home to Florida and came in here feeling much, much better.”

A semi-finalist at last year’s event, where she was ultimately beaten by eventual runner-up Sharapova, Lisicki has now reached the quarter-finals at the All England Club on three of her four appearances. It’s also the third time the German has knocked out a reigning French Open champion at Wimbledon, having beaten Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round in 2009, Li Na in the second round last year and now Sharapova in the last sixteen.

“I guess they shouldn’t be part of my draw,” chuckled Lisicki, who will aim to match her best ever Grand Slam result when she plays compatriot Angelique Kerber in the last eight.

Kerber, who reached the Eastbourne final but squandered five match points in defeat to Tamira Paszek, seems in ominous form, crushing Kim Clijsters 6-1 6-1 on Monday.

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