• Wimbledon, Day Eight

Battling Lisicki built in McIlroy's mould

Sabine Lisicki, a wildcard entrant, has battled back from injury hell to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• Features: McIlroy shares wisdom with Murray
  
• News: Nadal fit to play after MRI shows no serious injury
  
• News: Sharapova crushes Cibulkova, Lisicki edges through
  
• News: What They Said
  
• Profile: Sabine Lisicki

Wimbledon Day Eight Gallery
Plays of the Day
Women's round-up: Sharapova storms into semis
What They Said

Rory McIlroy, sporting a pink tie in the Royal Box, stood and applauded Sabine Lisicki. Did he know the 21-year-old German's backstory? Did he know they shared an eerily similar rising-from-the-ashes trajectory in majors this year?

McIlroy famously blew a four-shot lead at the Masters earlier this year, then came back to take a wire-to-wire victory in the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club, shooting a record 16-under par and winning by eight strokes.

Lisicki? She had led No. 3 seed Vera Zvonareva 5-4 in the third set at the French Open earlier this year, then collapsed in a mess of tears and leg cramps and was carried off the court on a stretcher. Tuesday, she gagged again in the second set of the Wimbledon quarter-finals, blowing a 5-4 lead against Marion Bartoli. Lisicki whiffed on three match points, lost in a tiebreaker and another appearance by the medics seemed inevitable.

But this time Lisicki rallied against the determined Bartoli, finishing emphatically 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1. "I don't know what to say," Lisicki said in her BBC post-match interview, giggling. "I am so speechless.

"I was very disappointed with myself at 5-4 because I missed so easily. I didn't just go for it. But I felt I was the better player and knew I had to focus and fight again in the third set."

As a result, Germany has its first women's Wimbledon semi-finalist since Steffi Graf landed in the final four a dozen years ago. Lisicki, who once had dinner with Graf and her husband, Andre Agassi, in their Las Vegas home, will play Maria Sharapova on Thursday.

In 11 previous Grand Slams, Lisicki had truly distinguished herself only once -- when she reached the quarterfinals here at the All England Club as a 19-year-old. But last year at Indian Wells, she suffered a left ankle injury that sidelined her for five months. After seven weeks on crutches, her calf muscles were wasted and she had to re-teach herself to walk.

Progress was slow until she found herself back on the grass she loves so much. Two weeks ago at Birmingham, she won the second title of her career. And now, after running the table here as a wild card, she has a perfect 11-0 record on grass.

Lisicki's varied game suggests she can contend here for awhile. Not only did she hit one serve 121 miles per hour (Andy Murray's average first-serve speed Monday), but her drop shots and lobs consistently befuddled Bartoli, who looked exhausted in the third set.

"My mind was trying extremely hard, but just my body couldn't do anything anymore," Bartoli explained later. "I play a lot of matches, a lot of long matches. At the end, I couldn't anymore."

Lisicki entered the tournament as the WTA's No. 62-ranked player. Now she's projected to be the top-25 player she was two years ago.

"I cannot explain how I feel at the moment," she said. "It was such a tough road. To stand on Centre Court at Wimbledon … I'm just so happy."

Sharapova has the look of a champion -- again: It's rare to see a one-hour match in the quarterfinals of a major, but that's what happened Tuesday. Maria Sharapova, holding a height advantage of nearly a foot, wrecked Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-1 in 60 minutes to advance to a semifinal against Lisicki. "This is a great chance for me to take it a step further," Sharapova said. Six ESPN.com prognosticators (including yours truly) chose Sharapova as their winner.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.