Emotional Lisicki Misses out on a Great Finish

After playing an unbelievable tournament, Sabine Lisicki seemed destined to crown herself as the new Wimbledon queen. She did all the hard work already, shocking world No.1 and defending champion, Serena Williams, in the fourth round, before an epic defeat of last year's runner-up, Agnieszka Radwanska, in the semis. She needed just one more win and her dream would come true. Her opponent in the final was Marion Bartoli, a player she beat in three of their four previous meeting. It seemed an easy task, right? However, no Grand Slam final is ever easy.

The German, renowned for being an emotional player, could not really cope with the big occasion. What promised to be a day to remember, quickly turned into a nightmare, Bartoli being one point away from a total blow-out at 6-1,5-1 on Lisicki's serve. After saving three match points to hold serve, an extremely frustrated Sabine finally hit her zone. She won three consecutive games, reducing the deficit to one game. Desperate not to let her opponent get back on equal terms, the Frenchwoman hold to love to win the crown.

Tennis can be crude at times. Lisicki did everything right before this last match, but she just couldn't control her nerves. "I felt fine this morning but it's an occasion that you don't get every day," she told a news conference. "So it's something completely new for me. The walk on court is different. You walk on with the flowers. You walk on together. Everything is a little bit different. The feeling, the atmosphere is different."

Of course, all credit should go to Bartoli for producing a flawless display, but I feel like Lisicki could have won this battle if she was better prepared. Nevertheless, this is no time for regrets. The German possesses such a huge game that she just needs to be given this opportunity again. As she confessed, she will surely learn from the defeat and hopefully be ready next year. "I will learn and take away so much from it," she assured us. "I've done that in the past. Experience has always helped me so much. When I was in the quarters here the first time, when I was in the semis for the first time, and now in the final for the first time. I've always gained my experience here, which is good. I hope that next time it will help me to do that one step further."

Despite the painful loss, Lisicki tried to remain positive and look at what a sensational run she's had these past two weeks. "It's still been a great tournament," she said. "It's been an amazing two weeks. I've played my best tennis here. I had to take out the champion and runner-up from last year, so I think that's pretty big. This tournament definitely made me a better player." Sabine loves grass and she always did great at Wimbledon, so I do expect her to win this title one day. As Marion said "I'm sure you will be there one more time. I have no doubt about it."

Although she was hot favourite to become the new Wimbledon queen, Sabine Lisicki could not cope with the pressure. The German was unable to respond to the inspired display of Marion Bartoli, losing her first Grand Slam final 1-6,4-6.

During the on court interview, the emotional Lisicki declared her love for Wimbledon and vowed to come back next year and try to win the title.

photos: GETTY IMAGES