Sabine Lisicki advances to Wimbledon semifinals

WIMBLEDON, Britain -- Sabine Lisicki of Germany proved on Tuesday that she’s more than a one-upset wonder.

Lisicki, who eliminated defending Wimbledon champion and world No. 1 Serena Williams in the round of 16 on Monday, became the first woman to advance to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Court 1.

Lisicki, who lives in Bradenton, Fla., and speaks nearly unaccented English, will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 6 Li Na of China. That match, on Centre Court, was suspended because of rain with Radwanska leading, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 2-0. It was resumed shortly afterward, once the roof could be closed.

[Updated, 8:55 a.m. PDT July 2: Radwanska, on her eighth match-point opportunity, finally closed out a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2 victory. The two women met at the net after their two-hour, 43-minute match and exchanged kisses on the cheek.

Radwanska was the runner-up to Williams at Wimbledon last year.]

Also suspended by rain was the quarterfinal match on Court 1 between No. 15 Marion Bartoli of France and No. 17 Sloane Stephens, who trains in Los Angeles.

Bartoli, wearing black tape on her right thigh, was leading 5-4 and began to complain to officials as the rain became harder. She moved well behind the baseline and slid her foot along the grass, as if to show how slippery it had become. After consultation among officials, the tarp was brought out and play was halted with the game at deuce for the third time and Stephens serving.

The victory by Lisicki ended a trend of players who had scored upsets falling back to earth in the next round. Steve Darcis of Belgium withdrew after his upset of Rafael Nadal, Sergiy Stakhovsky lost his next match after dismissing defending champion Roger Federer in the second round, and Michelle Larcher de Brito lost her third-round match in straight sets after upsetting No. 3 Maria Sharapova in the second round.

Lisicki, 23, will play in her second career Grand Slam semifinal. The first was at Wimbledon in 2011.

“I had great challenges on the way to the semis,” Lisicki said, “so I think that made me more ready for the semis.”

She broke Kanepi’s serve in the first and last games of the first set. In the second set, Kanepi broke Lisicki’s serve at love in the third game, but Lisicki broke back and won the second game when Kanepi double-faulted.

Lisicki also broke Kanepi for a 4-2 lead and closed out the 64-minute match with a cross-court forehand.

The other women’s quarterfinal scheduled for Tuesday pitted No. 8 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic against No. 20 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. That was to follow the Radwanska-Li match on Centre Court.

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