Sabine Lisicki: You can't help but think of Steffi Graf

Never in the recent past of women’s tennis has a single player been dubbed so many things at once — The Smiling Darling, Doris Becker, Boom Boombine, Super Sab, the next Steffi Graf and the Comeback Queen. But Sabine Lisicki, with her victories over Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska, has sky-rocketed to the most talked about names in tennis currently. The big-serving 23-year-old has also got the backing of Steffi Graf — the last German to reach a grand slam semifinal before Lisicki achieved the feat on Thursday, and also the last grand slam winning German player. [caption id=“attachment_931515” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Lisicki delivers one of those booming forehand winners. Getty Images[/caption] “It’s not easy for anybody to come back and play the next day after such a big victory but Sabine Lisicki stayed focused, played smart and truly seemed to enjoy herself as she continued her winning streak at Wimbledon,” Graf said after Lisicki had demolished Kaia Kanepi in the quarter-finals. Graf then backed Lisicki to get past Radwanska too, and the 23rd seed fought back in stunning fashion to prove the legend right. The 22-time grand slam champion then texted Lisicki, asking her ’to go for it’ — certainly spurring her to take the first set 6-4 against Radwanska. However, she tried to finish her points too fast in the following set, losing it 6-2 before going down 0-3 in the final set. It was familiar ground for Lisicki though (she was 0-3 down in the final set versus Serena too), and then pumped her way back into the match, eventually winning the set 9-7. The power-packed service, the whizzing forehand drives and the occasional slice and drop shot have drawn obvious comparisons to Graf and even Boris Becker. That, and her ability to open up her body for a rasping return winner are markers of similarities in their games. It would be harsh to make Lisicki look like a compilation of a few great tennis players — she does retain her own trademarks — especially her habit to reassure herself with constant nods every time she’s bracing for a service. Despite beating Williams and Radwanska, Lisicki should not take her final match against Marion Bartoli lightly. The Frenchwoman is blessed with terrifying power and the energy she reserves on court is unmatched. ( Click here for a video of her warm-up before her semifinal win over Kirsten Flipkens, and you’ll know what we mean.) But if she wins, it will be a remarkable story for someone who faced a career-threatening injury three years ago. Lisicki, who was left on crutches after the win, credits her comeback partly to reading the autobiographies of skiing world champion Hermann Maier and American footballer Drew Brees. And while she is just 23 and has a long journey to justify all the praise coming her way, one day, maybe ten years later, a young tennis player may read Lisicki’s autobiography for inspiration. For now however, we should just savour the moment.