Sabine Lisicki showed Na Li the exit door on Thursday. Does that result help out Serena Williams?
Na Li's form may have been impressive on clay however the grass courts have proven to be different as the Chinese star is out of Wimbledon at the hands of Sabine Lisicki of Germany. The upset might seem huge to some but really Lisicki was only a moderate underdog in the match in terms of betting odds and she had a recent grass court title to her credit besides an appearance in the Wimbledon quarters the last time she challenged the event ('09).
With the win Lisicki has given herself a great chance to make the fourth round at Wimbledon as she will next face Misaki Doi, an inexperienced 20 year old from Japan who never won a Grand Slam match prior to this year's Wimbledon draw.
While Lisicki is the most direct beneficiary of the upset to Li, often when a highly ranked player gets upset in a Grand Slam draw, the door then opens for another high seed to go deep into the draw as opposed to the player who caused the upset directly.
When one looks at Na Li's former quarter of the Wimbledon draw, there are three players besides Lisicki who now look as though they have a better chance of making the semifinals: Marion Bartoli, Ana Ivanovic, and Serena Williams, the latter being the four time champion from SW19.
Williams is a player who has yet to discover her best tennis at this year's edition of The Championships however with each match she promises to improve. She has Maria Kirilenko in the third round and then the American will likely face Marion Bartoli in the fourth round.
In my view the winner between Marion Bartoli and Serena Williams, should the fourth round match take place, will go on to the semis to face the survivor of Caroline Wozniacki's quarter.
If Williams makes the semifinal I would put her past Wozniacki, or whoever survives that quarter, while I think the Dane would defeat Bartoli should that semifinal take place.