Surprise quarter-finalist Sabine Lisicki has attributed her Wimbledon success to the inspiration she has drawn from Lance Armstrong.
Surprise quarter-finalist Sabine Lisicki has attributed her Wimbledon success to the inspiration she has drawn from Lance Armstrong.
The 19-year-old revealed she used the American cyclist's autobiography for extra motivation after knocking out a third seed to set up a last-eight meeting with world number one Dinara Safina.
"It's very inspiring because he never stopped believing that he could beat the cancer and that he could get back on the bike," she said.
Lisicki, one of two unseeded players in the last eight, followed up earlier victories over top-30 ranked Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-4, 6-4 win against ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark yesterday.
Lisicki, who did not drop her serve yesterday, has surprised herself by reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final but is growing in confidence with every win.
Surprised"I've been surprised how far I have got and how well I have started to play," she said. "But I think the key was the very first match where I was actually two points away from losing and I turned it around.
"After that, I really started to play better and better and to believe that I can do good.
"For me it's just one match at a time. I was very happy to have beaten Svetlana. Getting into the second week, I just thought, I have nothing to lose now.
"I'm playing my best tennis so far and I'm very happy and I think I can still get much better. I'm looking forward to the next matches."
