Top-seeded Maria Sharapova’s bid for a second consecutive Grand Slam title ended with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to No. 15 Sabine Lisicki in a windy, rainy fourth-round match at Wimbledon on Monday.
Sharapova was trying to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.
The Russian completed a career Grand Slam by taking the trophy at Roland Garros last month.
She won Wimbledon in 2004, and was the runner-up last year, when she beat Lisicki in the semifinals, part of a 3-0 head-to-record against the German before Monday.
Sharapova was trying to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Reuters
Lisicki, wearing a long-sleeved shirt for warmth, ended the match with ace.
Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is also German, sat in Lisicki’s guest box at Court 1.
Kim Clijsters, who was playing her last Wimbledon, lost in straight sets to eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany in the fourth round.
Clijsters is retiring after this year’s US Open and went out with a whimper on Court 3, winning just two games as Kerber overpowered her 6-1, 6-1.
The Belgian four-time Grand Slam winner never earned a break point and saved a match point when serving at 5-0 in the second set. Kerber than served out the match at love.
Klijsters gave a brief wave to the crowd as she walked off the court to a loud round of applause. She was trying to advance to her fourth Wimbledon quarterfinal, but never reached the final at the All England Club.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams came through another tough three-setter to reach the quarterfinals, beating 65th-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.
Williams cruised through the first set in windy conditions before the hard-hitting Shvedova found her rhythm in the second, breaking the American twice to level the match. Williams then wasted three break points at 4-4 in the third before eventually breaking for a 6-5 lead. She clinched the victory with a backhand winner on her first match point.
In her third-round match, Williams won the last set 9-7 against Zheng Jie.
Shvedova, a wild-card entry, became the first woman in the Open Era to win a set without losing a single point in her third-round match against Sara Errani.
Earlier on the day, defending champion Petra Kvitova overcame an error-filled performance to rally from a set and a break down and outlast Francesca Schiavone 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals.
In a matchup of two former Grand Slam winners, both players struggled to control the windy conditions on Court 3, and Kvitova wasted 10 break points in the first set. She finally broke back for 2-2 in the second when Schiavone double-faulted. However, the fourth-seeded Czech took charge by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and served out the match at love.
Finally, second-ranked Victoria Azarenka also cruised into the quarterfinals by routing former top-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-0.
Azarenka converted five of her seven break points and saved all three she faced to wrap up the victory in little more than an hour.
The match was suspended by rain at 4-1 in the first set, forcing organizers to close the retractable roof over Centre Court. Azarenka continued to dominate when play resumed, and finished with 19 winners compared to six unforced errors.
Azarenka is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw after No. 1 Maria Sharapova was eliminated by Sabine Lisicki.
AP
