Wimbledon 2011, Day 8: Sharapova, Wild Card Lisicki Advance To Semifinals

Wimbledon 2011 Bracket Update: Azarenka Eases Into Semifinals

Victoria Azarenka was supposed to take on Tamira Paszek today on Court One in the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals. However after one set, rain moved the match under Centre Court's roof after a delay. That lengthy delay did nothing to stall the 21-year-old fourth seed's match into the semifinals.

Azarenka defeated Paszek 6-3, 6-1 and moved on as the highest-remaining seed in Wimbledon. It's her first appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal.

Up next for her is eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova, who defeated Tsventana Pironkova in three-sets earlier. The winner moves on the Wimdledon finals.

Kvitova and Azarenka are 2-2 against one another, with Kvitova winning the last two matches. They met at Wimbledon in the third round last year, with Kvitova winnin in straight sets.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

Wimbledon 2011 Results: Petra Kvitova Moves On To Semifinals

After Wimbledon's "Manic Monday" decimated the women's singles draw, Tuesday seems to be providing more predictable results. Eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova's three-set victory over Tsventana Pironkova is just the latest evidence of it.

Kvitova needed three sets — 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 — to down Pironkova, but rather thoroughly dominated the Bulgarian player who topped Venus Williams in the round of 16. Kvitova hit 54 winners to Pironkova's 10, and broke Pironkova's serve six times, more than making up for her 24 unforced errors.

Kvitova advances to the Wimbledon semifinals with the victory, and will play the winner of Tuesday's final match, between No. 4 seed Victoria Azarenka and Tamira Paszek, on Thursday. With a return to the Wimbledon semifinals, Kvitova has matched her career best at a Grand Slam; she will now hope for a better finish than she managed in 2010, when she lost in straight sets to Serena Williams.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

Sabine Lisicki And Wildcards At Wimbledon: Three Great, Unexpected Semifinal Runs

Sabine Lisicki became just the third wildcard in Wimbledon history to reach the semifinals or better with her win on Tuesday. We take a look back at all three performances.

Wimbledon Results And Scores: Maria Sharapova Cruises To Semifinals

With a depleted women's draw before her, Maria Sharapova's path to a second Wimbledon title seems as clear as it has ever been. Her demolition of Dominika Cibulkova to reach the semifinals at the All England Club showed that Sharapova is very much capable of getting her desired Wimbledon result.

Sharapova routed Cibulkova, 6-1, 6-1, in a brisk, hour-long match on Tuesday, and left the young Slovak player with little to be positive about. Sharapova hit 23 winners to Cibulkova's three, and lost just 24 points total over her two sets.

That's the sort of form Sharapova has rarely shown in recent years, as a number of injuries have left her repeatedly struggling to reach the highest heights of her early career. And with no other elite players left in the 2011 Wimbledon field — Sharapova will play unseeded Sabine Lisicki in the semifinals, and would face no higher a seed than fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka in the final — this may be a chance for her to capture a title and look like the world's best player while doing so.

For more on Wimbledon, check out our 2011 Wimbledon hub.

Wimbledon 2011 Results: Sabine Lisicki Upsets No. 9 Marion Bartoli

Match results from Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011, where rain has halted play everywhere but the enclosed Centre Court. 

The first Ladies' Singles quarterfinal of Wimbledon 2011 was a thriller, and ended with wild card Sabine Lisicki defefeating No. 9 Marion Bartoli 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 to become the first German woman in the semifinals of a grand slam since Steffi Graf in 1999.

With Lisicki's title in Birmingham and Bartoli's in Eastbourne, both players began the match with perfect 9-0 records on grass this year.

With thunder and rain noisily beating down on the closed roof over Centre Court, Lisicki took early command of the match.  Lisicki broke midway through the first set and held onto her serve in the late stages, taking the first set 6-4 in forty-three minutes.

Lisicki still appeared to be in control in the second frame, effectively moving the slower Bartoli around the court with several lobs and drop shots, eventually breaking Bartoli at 4-4 to give herself a chance to serve for the semifinals.

But Bartoli saved three match points at 4-5 in the second set, including one on a 22-shot rally that ended with a Lisicki dropshot falling into the net.  Bartoli only won one point on her serve in the following tiebreak, but Lisicki didn't win a single one on hers, giving the Frenchwoman the breaker 7-4 and new life in the third.

But Bartoli had run out of gas by the final set.  She no longer had the energy to fill the time between points with her signature bouncing and shadow swings, and even found chairs to sit in between games when there wasn't a changeover.

The fresher, fitter Lisicki took advantage, storming through the third set 6-1 to make the semifinals of a grand slam for the first time.  She will face the winner of the second quarterfinal, which is between No. 5 Maria Sharapova and No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova.

Though it ended with a whimper, this has been an incredible stretch for Bartoli.  Making the semifinals of the French Open, winning Eastbourne, and making the quarterfinals of Wimbledon is a run that most every player would be envious of, and she should definitely be considered one of the players to watch as the tour shifts to North America.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

Tuesday's Wimbledon Schedule And TV Coverage

Ladies' quarterfinals play begins Tuesday, Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011 at the All England Club, with tournament action beginning at 7 a.m. EDT. The remaining eight players in the women's draw will compete on Centre Court and, assuming the weather holds, Court No. 1. Today's TV schedule (view the full fortnight's schedule here):

• 7 a.m. - 10 a.m.: ESPN2
• 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: NBC
• 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.: ESPN2

2011 Wimbledon matches can also be viewed for free online on ESPN3. Live scores can be found throughout the day on the tournament's official website.

Scheduled quarterfinals matches on Centre Court:
• No. 9 Marion Bartoli vs. Sabine Lisicki
• No. 5 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova

Scheduled matches on Court 1:
• No. 8 Petra Kvitova vs. No. 32 Tsvetana Pironkova
• No. 4 Victoria Azarenka vs. Tamira Paszek

In American news, absent the Williams sisters: Having finally outlasted four days of rain delays to play their first two matches in rapid succession, Bob and Mike Bryan will be playing their third-round doubles match on Court No. 2 against the Swedish-Australian duo of Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for results from Day 8 of Wimbledon 2011 as matches are completed.