Wimbledon 2014: 'Bina Boom Boom' Sabine Lisicki overcomes initial nerves to progress to second round in effort to prevent plummet down rankings
Lisicki took to Centre Court on day two to blast past Julia Glushko in straight sets 6-2 6-1
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Your support makes all the difference.This year it is boom or bust for Bina Boom Boom. Or to put it more plainly, Sabine Lisicki faces a plummet down the world rankings if she fails to come close to replicating her joyous romp to last year’s final. On Tuesday she overcame some initial nerves on her return to Centre Court to gallop into the second round in less than an hour, overcoming the lightweight challenge of the Israeli debutant Julia Glushko at the cost of just three games.
It is a first step for one of the most popular players here. The crowd love her, with her omnipresent smile and her crash-bang-wallop approach to the game, and she loves the whole place and Centre Court in particular. She has a simple approach to the game - there is no Plan B - which is both her strength and weakness.
On Monday evening the German watched highlights of her 2013 Wimbledon, which included a thunderous victory over Serena Williams. Her runners-up plate earned her 1400 rankings points and even by the yo-yo standards of Lisicki’s career the loss of the majority of those will have a drastic effect on her status. An early exit could drop her from her current 19th out of the world’s top 50.
This was her first match since she dropped out of the French Open through injury – shoulder trouble has dogged her season – and Centre Court is no place to ease yourself back into the swing of things. That is not Lisicki’s style anyway, hence her nickname back home. She broke early and blasted Glushko off the court even if there were the usual sprinkling of wayward shots.
“My last few months haven’t been good,” said Lisicki. “With my shoulder injury, I was struggling. But it’s about now. I’m getting my rhythm back and getting the confidence again. There were some nerves. It’s just a place that means so much to me. I love that court so much. It definitely helped me. The crowd, as well, helped me to settle very quickly.”
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