Sharapova out, Federer hangs on
Maria Sharapova’s expected challenge for the Wimbledon title turned into a damp squib today as the off-form top seed was outplayed under cloudy skies by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.
Looking to follow up her French Open title with a second Wimbledon crown, the Russian produced a performance as grey as the weather in a 6-4 6-3 defeat on Court One.
Licki was almost overwhelmed with emotion after sealing her first career victory over Sharapova. ‘‘It is just unbelievable for me,’’ Lisicki said.
Four-times champion Serena Williams scrambled through to the quarterfinals at the grasscourt slam for the 10th time in her career although she was given a fright by powerful Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova in a 6-1 2-6 7-5 win on a blustery Court Two.
Williams will now face defending champion from the Czech Republic Petra Kvitova after she hit back from a poor start to beat Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Second seed Victoria Azarenka crushed Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-0 in just over an hour to reach the quarterfinals. Belarussian Azarenka outclassed the former French Open champion, seeded 14th, moving her relentlessly around the court with a succession of accurate and powerful groundstrokes.
Roger Federer was also off colour against Xavier Malisse and appeared on the verge of retiring with a sore back in the first set before claiming a 7-6 6-1 4-6 6-3 victory to stay on track for a recordequalling seventh title.
The Swiss needed a lengthy injury timeout in the first set when he was barely moving, but returned to win the opening set tiebreak and after a rain delay, and further treatment at the end of the third set, he found some fluency to reach the quarterfinals despite looking below his best.
Top seed Novak Djokovic showcased his full armoury of shots as he sauntered into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-1 6-3 demolition of countryman Viktor Troicki today.
Djokovic came into the encounter on the back of an 11-match winning streak against his opponent and never looked like relinquishing the psychological edge as he broke decisively in the sixth game of the first set before closing it out.
The world No 1 was in no mood for hanging about in the second, breaking for the third time with a forehand volley to secure the set in just 24 minutes.
But the rest of the men’s title aspirants – including big home hope Andy Murray – have been left hanging due to rain that turned Magic Monday at the All England Club into Miserable Monday.
All eight women’s fourth-round matches were completed, but Djokovic, Federer and Russian Mikhail Youzhny were the only three men happily left high and dry when play on all outside courts was suspended for the day.