Wimbledon 2013: Talking points from Day 8

Radwanska lays down a marker

Agnieszka Radwanska

In what was so far the best women’s match of the tournament in terms of quality, Agnieszka Radwanska prevailed with stunning resilience and guile against Li Na.

Li’s ball striking and power were probably the finest she’s ever played on grass before and had it not been for two dodgy line calls and equally dodgy choices to not challenge them, she would have won the first set and possibly sitting in the semifinals now.

But even with a thigh problem, Radwanska refused to buckle and held on until Li eventually broke down in the third set. Some of the returning and passing shots she produced at the end of the first set were superb both in their execution and tenacity.

Radwanska is a nightmare for opponents to break down because her slices and chess like shot selection is something that the WTA is seriously lacking in at the moment. Could you imagine Dinara Safina facing Radwanska at the height of the ‘I hit harder’ era?

So the majority of the players don’t have the know-how to overcome her. The only way to beat it seems is to hit her off the court, which Li just couldn’t do. Her suppleness and adaptability is what won her this match and in my view – as long as her thigh holds out for the next two matches – makes her the favorite.

Can Lisicki maintain her consistency?

Sabine Lisicki

Although Radwanska is now my favorite, the bookmakers see the likable German as the favorite especially now that Petra Kvitova is out. And after backing up her very impressive performance against Serena Williams with an efficient beat down of Kaia Kanepi, you can understand why.

Lisicki has the biggest game of all the remaining women in the draw. She averages 77.5% points won on her first serve – excluding her match with Williams – and her return is proving to be a massive weapon. Who else could deconstruct Serena’s serve that way and her opening game break against Kanepi broke the Estonian’s heart after an eight minute war.

The only question mark about Lisicki for me is her consistency. It hasn’t been as bad as Kvitova’s over the past year, but she still has troughs in her game. Against Williams, after performing brilliantly against Serena, she reverted back to her ‘normal’ tour level self in the second set and half of the third.

With all due respect to Kanepi, she didn’t have the game to trouble Lisicki enough to put her under pressure. The women who have beaten her at Wimbledon previously are Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina and Angelique Kerber, all women with big power games. And to be fair, none of the other women in the draw have that power either.

But I just have a feeling that if the pressure is on her, she’ll begin to crack. But if Lisicki can perform the way she has over the past two matches, then she has a really good chance of beating the wall like Radwanska and reach the final of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.

Flipkens’s fairy tale

Kirsten Flipkens

Flipkens’s bad luck was that she was a Belgian junior prodigy who came to prominence when Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were beginning to make an impact on the Grand Slams. Maybe she had it too easy at the beginning of her career but the backlash she’s received for not fulfilling her potential was certainly harsh. Not all junior champions reach the top of the game!

But last year she hit the ultimate rock bottom when blood clots in her legs kept her out of action for two months, dropping her ranking to 262. And to top it off, she lost her funding from the VTV (Flemish Tennis Association) which meant she couldn’t afford to take her coach with her on tour.

This is what makes her journey to the semifinals of Wimbledon so gratifying. Her consistent results over the last 12 months meant that she was seeded for the first time in her career and this meant that she had an easy run to the fourth round. Then she beat a good player in Flavia Pennetta and overcame the off-colour Kvitova yesterday.

Her game is solid and is surprisingly powerful with a serve that hits 114mph. She next faces grass court veteran Marion Bartoli in the biggest match of her career and after her win yesterday, I really wouldn’t be surprised if the Belgian could continue her fairy-tale journey to her first Grand Slam final.