adminLONDON – Sabine Lisicki became the first German woman since 1999 to reach a Grand Slam final when she defeated Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 yesterday in a thrilling Wimbledon semi-final. The 24th seed Lisicki will face France’s 15th-seeded Marion Bartoli, the 2007 runner-up, in tomorrow’s title match looking to become Germany’s first champion at a major since Steffi Graf beat Martina Hingis to claim the 1999 French Open.
Graf was also the last German to reach a final at a major when she was runner-up to Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon that same year.
But 23-year-old Lisicki, the smiling darling of the All England Club crowd, did it the hard way.
She was a set and a break ahead before an astonishing collapse put her 0-3 down in the decider with errors flying off both sides.
But Lisicki, who put out five-time champion Serena Williams in the fourth round, mounted an astonishing and memorable fightback against a player who made the semi-final having spent three hours more on court.
She finished with nine aces and 60 winners which compensated for the 46 unforced errors she sent down, a worthwhile price for her all-out assault.
Lisicki, who was a semi-finalist in 2011, grabbed the first break to lead 4-3 when a groundstroke clipped the top of the net just enough to throw Radwanska off balance whose hesitant forehand dropped wide.
The 23-year-old German fired down a 119mph ace to hold for 5-3 but Radwanska, with both thighs heavily strapped, put the onus onto her opponent to serve out the set with a solid hold in the ninth game.-AFP.
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derick.khumalo