Sabine Lisicki knocks Maria Sharapova out

The German ends the top-ranked Russian's Wimbledon quest and Serena Williams survives a scare against Yaroslava Shvedova.

Sabine Lisicki reacts after the German knocked out women's No 1 Maria Sharapova out of Wimbledon for a place in the quarter-finals.

Sabine Lisicki's love affair with Wimbledon continued Monday as she defeated the world No 1 Maria Sharapova, and the German is determined to keep going toward a first grand slam title.

Lisicki, 22, reached the semi-finals last year despite being unseeded, but she was stopped by Sharapova. She avenged that result as she marched into the quarter-finals with a resounding 6-4, 6-3 success.

Lisicki, seeded 15, this year, said: "It's just unbelievable. I'm so happy. I had lost the last three meetings with her, so it's nice to finally win one.

"I just went for my shots out there. I felt great. It's my favourite tournament. I love the crowd and playing on grass.

"I'm a fighter and I fight to the last game. I think I'm getting better with each match."

The defeat means that Sharapova could lose the No 1 spot come the end of the tournament, but the Russian was relaxed on that prospect.

"Of course, you want to stay at the top as long as you can," she said. "Obviously, everyone guns for that spot."

Lisicki will meet her compatriot Angelique Kerber, the No 8 seed, on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals.

Kerber defeated Kim Clijsters 6-1, 6-1 in a one-sided affair as the former world No 1, who is retiring at the end of the season, lost her last game at Wimbledon in disappointing fashion.

The Belgian conceded: "I just had the feeling that there was absolutely nothing I could have done today to win the match."

Elsewhere, Serena Williams is optimistic her best is still to come at this year's championship as she prepares to take on the defending champion Petra Kvitova on Tuesday in the quarter-finals.

Williams, for the second successive match, was pushed to three sets as she won 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 over Yaroslava Shvedova.

The 13-time major winner acknowledged she had yet to find top form, but said: "I knew the whole time I could play better, but I feel fine. I'm not tired.

"I feel it's going good. The bottom line is I can play so much better than I am. If I couldn't do better that would be a problem. You know me, I'm never satisfied."

Victoria Azarenka, the world No 2, produced the most dominating display of yesterday's action, cruising past Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-0 to set up a match today with the unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek, who defeated Roberta Vinci, the No 21 seed.

Also impressive was Agnieszka Radwanska, the Polish third seed, who reached the last eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win over the Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi.

She will face the Russian 17th seed Maria Kirilenko, who defeated Peng Shuai 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. Radwanska expects to be tested. "Her [Kirilenko] tennis is very tough, especially she's moving very well," she said. "She's a very good fighter, as well. It's never easy."

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