Defiant Lisicki revels in 'drama queen' role
Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki insisted on Friday that she will
not turn off the waterworks despite locker room resentment over the
German's reputation as a drama queen.
The permanently smiling German, who tackles France's Marion Bartoli
in Saturday's championship match, has won an army of British fans with
her emotional run to a maiden Grand Slam final.
But the 23-year-old is reportedly unpopular with many women players
on the tour who feel she exaggerates her back story which includes five
painful months on the sidelines after suffering a potentially
career-ending ankle injury.
Some rivals are weary of Lisicki's "having to learn to walk again"
summary of her return to action.
After Thursday's semi-final, Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska only
managed a cool, abrupt handshake with Lisicki with half her back turned
after the German had theatrically collapsed to the Centre Court turf in
celebration.
"Should I just be there and dance? What could I do?," said Radwanska
"I didn't feel like that (warmly congratulating her opponent) at that
point." But Lisicki hit back on Friday.
"That's just myself. I enjoy myself out there. Why shouldn't I show
it?," she said.
"I'm an emotional person. It helps me stay relaxed and to enjoy the
game and play my best tennis. I won't change anything." Lisicki, the
first German woman in a Grand Slam final since Steffi Graf in 1999 and
bidding to become the first from her country to win Wimbledon since 1996
when Graf also triumphed, has her compatriots on her side. Graf sent her
a good-luck message before the semi-final, while three-time champion
Boris Becker has also been passing on tips.
"I have just spoken to Boris. I asked him a couple of questions, how
it was for him. He won the first final he was in so that's pretty good,"
she added. Lisicki also said that her hay fever is now under control
despite the grass pollen which usually makes her trips to Wimbledon a
private misery. "I have learnt how to cope with it. When I was first
here, maybe five years ago, I was really struggling with my allergies.
But now I know what to do, what to take to keep those allergies down.
I'm on medication," she said.
If she wins on Saturday, she said she will dedicate the trophy to her
mother and father, Richard and Elisabeth.
"My parents did everything possible so I could play tennis, that's
what I appreciate so much. My dad worked from eight in the morning until
nine in the evening to make it all possible," she explained.
"We had to cancel tournaments because we couldn't afford to go there.
So to get to this point means a lot to us."
AFP |