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The Wimbledon women’s semifinals are set for Thursday at the All England Club, and certainly the biggest name remaining in that draw is Maria Sharapova, who faces Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in one match. Sharapova is a -300 favorite with Lisicki at +220 on Bodog’s tennis odds. The other semi features Petra Kvitova (-120) vs. Victoria Azarenka (-110).
The fifth-seeded Sharpova is the only Grand Slam winner left of the four women. The Russian won Wimbledon back in 2004 as a 17-year-old but hasn’t reached a final since then. She also has won an Australian Open and a U.S. Open. Sharapova bombed 24th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time since 2006.
Lisicki, who was a wild-card entry into this tournament, beat No. 9 Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1 to become the first German woman to reach Wimbledon’s semifinals since Steffi Graf in 1999. This is by far the furthest Lisicki, who is ranked No. 62 in the world, has gone in a Grand Slam tournament. Lisicki missed seven months last year because of a left ankle injury and dropped out of the top 200 after being in the Top 25 two years ago. After seven weeks on crutches, her calf muscles were wasted and she had to reteach herself to walk. But she now might be the hardest-serving woman on tour.
Sharapova and Lisicki have faced off just once previously, a 6-2, 6-0 Sharapova win in Miami back in March. Lisicki is 11-0 on grass this year, however.
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