By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, February 2, 2018
In her 2018 tournament debut, Sabine Lisicki blasted battled past Monica Niculescu, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, surging into the Taiwan Open semifinals.
Photo credit: @SabineLisicki
Sabine Lisicki continues her spirited comeback in Taipei City.
The 28-year-old German battled past Monica Niculescu, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, surging into the Taiwan Open semifinals.
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It is the 2013 Wimbledon finalist's first WTA semifinal since Birmingham in 2015.
In her 2018 tournament debut after offseason knee surgery, Lisicki went the distance for the second time in three matches this week. An aggressive Lisicki laced 64 winners against 56 unforced errors compared to Niculescu's 13 winners.
The former world No. 12 rallied from 1-5 down denying two match points edging China's Yuxuan Zhang, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3) in her tournament opener.
Now ranked No. 246, Lisicki converted 10 of 28 breakpoints overcoming Niculescu in two hours, 44 minutes.
The 99th-ranked Niculescu saved seven of the first nine break points she faced, converting three breaks to take the first set.
Lisicki began finding the range on serve and permitted only three points in her last two service games.
Aiming for her first WTA title since the 2014 Hong Kong, Lisicki will play Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova for a spot in the final.
Kozlova surprised fifth-seeded Yulia Putintseva, 7-5, 6-3, in today's first quarterfinal.
No. 4-seeded Timea Babos blasted by Magda Linette, 6-1, 6-3, to roll into her fourth semifinal in the past year.
Babobs faces Wang Yafan in the semifinals. Yafan thrashed Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 6-0.