Maria Sharapova was not going to lose a second-straight match against Sabin Lisicki on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Having lost disappointingly against the German in the round-of-16 at Wimbledon a few weeks ago, the Russian beauty stormed back from a set down to move into the quarterfinals of the women's singles tennis tournament of the London Olympics.
After the first set and a few games into the second, it did not look like a Sharapova win was coming; having gone a set and break down, the Russian, determined to get an Olympic gold medal, used all her experience and fighting qualities to claw back and eventually prevail 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 6-3.
"I was really happy I was able to beat her today," the Russian former world number one told reporters. "Obviously losing to her a few weeks ago, I was not really happy with the way that I played, so I wanted to change that result.
"Even though I didn't play my best tennis, I was really happy that I got through it and I stepped up when I had to."
Sharapova will not have an easy task in the last-eight, though, when she meets Belgian Kim Clijsters, who, playing in her last Olympics, beat Serbian Ana Ivanovic.
"The conditions were not easy today but it was a fun court to play on. Most of the TV courts are huge and there's a lot of room around them but here you can really feel the impact of the crowd and it was very enjoyable," Clijsters said.
"There was lots of Belgian support and Serbian too, it was fun.
"I feel like I've been playing some really good tennis in the first three matches here, it's just a matter of trying to keep that up and before every match I need to refocus and stay on target."
There was a mixed bag on offer for the Williams sisters, as the older sibling Venus crashed out in the singles, while Serena cruised into the quarters.
Venus went down fighting, falling to German seventh seed Angelique Kerber 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).
In a match reminiscent of the Wimbledon final a couple of years ago, Serena thrashed Beijing Olympics bronze medal winner Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes. Serena now faces Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, after her 6-4, 6-2 win over Daniel Hantuchova
"I think I played better today and even in my second round than any match I played at Wimbledon," Serena said. "I was just playing unbelievable. I felt good. I was relaxed.
"I felt like, you know what, I'm here to have fun, I have nothing to lose. No pressure on myself.
"I was nervous going into the match. I didn't speak to anyone. I had a bad practice. I was thinking, 'Gosh, I'm stressed out'. I had no idea I would play like this. I was a little surprised."
Serena said she would prefer to win the doubles gold with her sister, over winning the singles gold. "To be completely honest (I'd prefer) a gold in doubles," she said. "I would love to have a gold in singles, but if I had to choose one, I would just choose doubles.
World number one Victoria Azarenka will take on Kerber in the quarters, after defeating towering Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
The final quarterfinal will see Petra Kvitova take on Maria Kirilenko, with Kvitova beating Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-0 and Kirilenko getting past Julia Goerges 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
