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Out-hit for most of the match, 2012 semi-finalist Kerber often resembled a climber hanging on to a cliff face by the fingertips as she stretched every sinew to retrieve a barrage of power from Sharapova, but she would not let go.
“It’s unbelievable, it was such a tough match, playing on a high level and it was so close,” 26-year-old Kerber, seeded nine, said after catching her breath. “I’m so happy, she’s a great player on grass, but I was just focusing on myself and I’m so happy to be in the quarters.”
Both players had been out of action since Saturday, after foul weather meant their fourth-round clash was postponed on Monday, and it was Kerber who was quicker into her stride, leading throughout the first set. Sharapova finally found her range to break back at 4-5 but some poor errors allowed the 26-year-old Kerber to win the last three points of the opening set tiebreak.
The Russian hit back to level the match and seemed to be favourite to book a quarter-final place but Kerber, defending for all her worth, moved into a 5-2 lead in the decider.
Sharapova saved a match point at 2-5 and Kerber’s nerve failed her at 5-3 as she served a double-fault on the way to dropping her serve.
The real drama was saved until the end with Sharapova saving five more match points, three in a row from 0-40, and looking poised to complete a remarkable comeback. Kerber would not be denied, though, and showed remarkable resilience to prevail in a rally that had both players scampering to all corners of the court before Sharapova rolled a forehand into the net. Sharapova then hit a backhand long to end the contest and send her packing along with Williams, second seed Li Na and 2012 runner-up Agnieskza Radwanska, the fourth seed.
Kerber will have to recover quickly as she faces Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard on Wednesday for a place in the semis.
Sublime Federer into quarter-finals, Lisicki survivesREUTERS: Roger Federer’s immaculate Wimbledon continued as he moved smoothly into the quarter-finals for the 12th time in his career on Tuesday by outclassing Spaniard Tommy Robredo. The Swiss, bidding for a record eighth title at the grassscourt slam, needed only one hour 34 minutes of sublime tennis to win 6-1 6-4 6-4 and avenge a humiliating defeat at the hands of Robredo at last year’s US Open.
All eyes have been on defending champion Andy Murray’s regal progress through the draw so far this year but Federer again issued a reminder that, when his game is flowing there are few better sights in world sport.
Sunshine ushered in day eight of the championships and organisers sought to re-calibrate the men’s and women’s singles draws on a day usually reserved for the women’s last eight.
Last year’s runner-up Sabine Lisicki, a round behind after having to finish off third round opponent Ana Ivanovic on Monday, survived a shoulder injury scare to beat Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 3-6 6-4.
The German 19th seed took a medical time-out in the middle of a game at 1-1 in the decider, having her shoulder massaged while lying on the turf, but recovered to reach the quarter-final for the fifth time in five visits. Romania’s “Miss Consistency” Simona Halep raced to a 6-3 6-0 fourth-round win over Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas as she maintained her dazzling from in this year’s slams.
The Wimbledon third seed reached the French Open final earlier this month and began the year with a quarter-final run at the Australian Open.
Lisicki said she hoped her shoulder would be in good enough shape to face Halep in Wednesday’s quarter-finals.
Federer, also facing an unusually busy schedule at Wimbledon because of the rain that fell on Saturday and Monday, will be back on court on Wednesday with a quarter-final against fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
On the day that Switzerland face Argentina in the World Cup last 16, Wawrinka beat a bad-tempered Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5) 7-6(7) 6-3, easing through without any major alarms.
Federer, yet to drop a set or a service game in his most impressive route to the quarter-finals since 2004, said it was a good time to be Swiss.
“For a small country we are doing well in sporting teams,” he told the BBC.
“Hopefully our football team can beat Argentina later and it will be amazing to play Stan in the quarter-finals here because things like that don’t happen too often in Swiss sport.”
Later on Tuesday world No. 1 Rafael Nadal is in fourth round action against Australian upstart Nick Kyrgios.
The women’s quarter-finals also start with three Czechs in the last eight of a grand slam for the first time in the professional era.
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the sixth seed, faces Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, while Lucie Safarova is up against Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. |
Unwell Serena retires from doubles matchLONDON (Reuters): Serena Williams was forced to pull out of her doubles match with sister Venus at Wimbledon on Tuesday after feeling unwell.
Up against German/Swiss duo Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele, the 32-year-old American looked in distress when she served a game of double faults to trail 0-3.
After it became clear that a tearful Serena could not carry on, the five-times Wimbledon doubles champions conceded.
The withdrawal completed a disappointing Wimbledon for the world No. 1 after she was beaten in the singles by Alize Cornet on Saturday in the third round – her earliest exit since 2005.
Venus also lost in the singles third round, to former champion Petra Kvitova. |
