Wild card Sabine Lisicki, who won the championship in Charleston in 2009 when she was seeded 15th, pulled another unexpected stunt tonight when she defeated 4th seed Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-3. Lisicki has been plagued by illness, injury and an apparent lack of confidence for so long, fans wondered if the once-heralded German would just fade away. Tonight, though, she often looked like the player who cruised through the tournament without dropping a set two years ago.
Lisicki's serve, forehand and drop shot were all there. Bartoli tried to stay away from the forehand, but Lisicki was able to defend well enough with her backhand to stay in rallies, and then strike with forehand passing shots and forehands up the line. She took control of the match right away, and never gave it up for very long.
In 2009, Bartoli lost to Lisicki in the semifinals. Currently ranked number 182 in the world, Lisicki--who could not play at the Family Circle Cup last year because of injury--has now won eight consecutive matches in Charleston.
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