Sabine out for revenge

Maria Sharapova had not been tested at all this Open, so tonight should be the chance to gauge exactly to what level her form is against a quality opponent in Sabine Lisicki. Sabine's comeback to tennis from a serious injury was capped off with a semi final at Wimbledon last year. Her tournament there ended at the hands and racquet of Sharapova so how sweet the reverse result would be for the German player if it could be achieved in the opening night match on Rod Laver Arena.

Lisicki did not have the easy ride to the fourth round enjoyed by Maria. Surviving a tough three setter against a Swiss qualifier in round one, Sabine thrashed out of sorts Shahar Peer before coming from a set down to prevail over Grand Slam veteran Kuznetsova. Maybe the match hardening would be of assistance in her quest to silence Sharapova, though I guess nothing will ever keep the tall one quiet on court.

Sharapova began where she left off her last match, practically perfect, intimidating Lisicki with glorious winners off both sides and a reliable serve.  Liscki, either side of the Sharapova opening serve could not make an impact with her own, which was a concern, given that her serve is a strength.  Maria forged a 3-0 lead with her to go to the line next.

A remarkable change occurred at that point and it could hardly be described as gradual.  Suddenly Maria made the errors while Sabine initiated the rallies and stroked the winners.  From feeling sorry for another Sharapova victim, then relieved for the German girl to at least win a single game, we eventually felt delight that a contest had developed.  Not content with registering as a participant in the match, Sabine wanted to direct proceedings, and won 6 straight games to win the first set in one of the most extraordinary turnarounds seen this year.  The 14th seed added variety and inventiveness to her solid all court game, and while it is fair to say that Sharapova's game dropped in standard, the lift in Lisicki's performance had much to do with where the match had headed.

Maria still played some moments of great tennis in between all the bad stuff, and no one could predict with any certainty her demise.  The standard of tennis from both girls in the second set continued to delight fans, and Maria proved again that champions know how to raise their stocks when behind.  A terrific returning game saw her break Lisicki to lead 3-1, and the shift in momentum was the final one for the set.  Sharapova now returned to her serving best and the placement of her powerful ground strokes often had Lisicki on the back foot early in rallies.  At 2-5, Sabine folded to give Maria not only the set but the advantage of serving first in the decider.

The pivotal game of the third set was at 1-1 with Maria serving - she had numerous chances to either lose or hold as the game continued deuce after deuce until finally her mental strength pushed her over the line to lead 2-1.  After that Maria appeared to control the match, winning her serve again before breaking Lisicki to take what seemed a match winning lead.  Despite Sabine's desperate efforts both to hang on to her own serve and to push Maria to the limit on hers, the fourth seed displayed her renowned toughness and did the job 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Her fellow Russian Makarova awaits in the quarter final.