The love affair between Sabine Lisicki and Wimbledon is a very special thing.
The blonde German has been a runner-up, semi-finalist and three times a quarter-finalist in her last five visits to The Championships and she needed to call on all the experience gained on the grass of The All England Club in years past to overcome a nervous first set and see off the second-round challenge of Christina McHale of the United States 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
She was at sea against the aggressive American in the first set, dropping serve twice, but after being broken again in the opening game of the second set Lisicki remembered her pedigree, battled back and finished a delighted – and worthy – winner in one hour 49 minutes.
Not since her debut year of 2008, when she went out in the first round to Marion Bartoli, had Lisicki suffered an early Wimbledon exit, but she arrived on the back of an indifferent year so far, with 15 wins offset by the same number of losses.
Sabine Lisicki
A first-round straight-sets victory over Jarmila Gajdosova clearly helped set at rest any doubts but they must have resurfaced again on Centre Court, that grand setting for so many of her previous moments of joy, as she struggled to hold off the aggressive strategy of McHale, someone she had defeated comfortably on the occasion of their only other meeting four years ago.
I didn't have a good first set but I knew I could do much better
Lisicki did not help herself in the first set, making 14 unforced errors and managing a first-serve percentage of just 48.
She was broken twice and found herself a set behind with the match less than half an hour old. No wonder McHale felt like indulging in some extravagant celebrations at the prospect of claiming such a distinguished Wimbledon scalp.
That prospect took another upward surge when McHale captured the Lisicki serve once more at the start of the second set.
It was time for Lisicki to buckle down, and she certainly did. “I finally found my range in the second set,” she said.
The service loss was immediately annulled as she broke McHale and gradually the contest began to swing her way.
“That was one of the key moments for me.” The next one was crucial. Holding a 6-5 lead and with the uncertainties of a tie-break looming, Lisicki suddenly overwhelmed McHale, breaking her to love, helped by a much-improved first serve level and five aces.
Somehow, suddenly, there could be no other winner of this match than Lisicki.
Boosted by the fond support of a Centre Court crowd who have grown to admire and like her over the seasons, Lisicki pulled away relentlessly in the final set, breaking the American twice and justifying that popularity.
“My experience here was a big help,” she said. “I didn’t have a good first set but knew I could do much better, and I did. The crowd support also helped me a lot.”
Germany has nine women in the top-ranked 100, something Lisicki is proud of. “We have had to wait a long time for that. A few years ago we had hardly anybody in the top 100. Now we have many good young players coming through, and doing a good job.”
Just as Lisicki did on her old stomping ground of Centre Court.
