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GERMAN OF THE WEEK

TENNIS

‘Boom Boom’ Lisicki – new German tennis hero

Even Wimbledon's ultra-patriotic crowd discovered a soft spot for the 23-year-old Berliner Sabine Lisicki on Monday, when she defeated world number one Serena Williams. She's our German of the Week.

'Boom Boom' Lisicki - new German tennis hero
Photo: DPA

Lisicki followed up her trouncing of the American by making short work of Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the quarter-final, to set up Thursday’s semi against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. If she makes it, she will become the first German to reach the Wimbledon final since Steffi Graf in 1999.

Bookies promptly anointed Lisicki the favourite for the title, and on Tuesday there was hardly a British newspaper that did not carry a triumphant picture of her on its title page.

Meanwhile, Graf herself joined the German press in lauding Lisicki’s qualities: “As confident as Lisicki has been playing and the way she’s been going for her shots, I believe she has a good chance to make it to the finals,” the 44-year-old Las-Vegas-based legend said on her Facebook page.

The comparisons were not lost on the British journalists at Lisicki’s press conference, of course, who asked her whether the shadow of Steffi was an inspiration or a burden. “Neither one or the other,” the Berliner answered and smiled. “I just look to myself. I want to give everything, that’s all I care about.”

That ambition was on display five years ago, when she first qualified for the Australian Open as an 18-year-old and promptly upset 16th seed Dinara Safina, declaring afterwards that her aim was to be world number one. At the moment, she is ranked 24, but that ranking is set to be boosted considerably whatever Thursday’s outcome.

It’s all a long way from the moment when she first stepped out onto the Rot-Weiß Tennis club in the Grunewald district of Berlin as a tentative eleven-year-old, having been spotted by Eberhard Wensky, director of the German Open.

According to a report in Die Welt, local league players and trainers dismissed her as someone who “just stands at the back and whacks the ball, but no ball goes in! You can forget it.”

“Her father, who I took on as a trainer at the time when the family came to Berlin, had given her very good foundations,” Wensky remembered. “A system like with the Williams sisters – stand at the baseline instead of retreating, hard groundstrokes, hard serve, a very good technique. And she moves very well on grass.”

Wimbledon has given those qualities their best chance to shine, and her new trainer, Wim Fissette of Belgium – who she has worked with for barely two months – is working on letting her play to her strengths. “He lets me work aggressively, isn’t trying to force defensive tactics on me,” Lisicki said.

One of Fissette’s former charges was multiple grand slam winner Kim Clijsters, and he has found plenty of comparisons. “There was one who hit even harder than her,” he told Tennismagazin. “And at the time Clijsters was playing the fastest pace on the tour. We all knew – Sabine could be really good one day.”

The Local/bk

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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