Wimbledon 2012: Who Benefits Most from Maria Sharapova's Loss?

Maria Sharapova is the No. 1 women’s tennis player in the world right now, but she was bounced in the fourth round of the 2012 Wimbledon tournament by No. 15-ranked Sabine Lisicki, 6-4, 6-3.

This monumental loss shakes up a women’s bracket that was already without some of its top stars. While the field is now wide open, this could make the event even more exciting than before.

The sport will miss having the marquee names to advertise around, but the action now could have the casual fans really drawn in by the unpredictability.

Sabine Lisicki

When you take out the top-seeded player and the No. 1 women’s tennis player in the world, you are most certainly the biggest beneficiary of her loss. Welcome to stardom, Sabine Lisicki.

For those that don’t know who Lisicki is, she is known for her success at Wimbledon.

With only four tournaments under her belt at the All England Club, she has reached the semifinals and quarterfinals twice and the final in the doubles division.

That much success so early in her career—coupled with the huge win over Sharapova—and Lisicki could be the top contender to shock the world and win Wimbledon.

Victoria Azarenka

With unranked Tamira Paszek next in the quarterfinals and the winner of the slugfest between Serena Williams vs. Petra Kvitova after that, Victoria Azarenka has the easiest draw of anyone in this portion of the bracket.

Despite never making it past the semifinals at Wimbledon—which she made last year—Azarenka is playing great tennis and looks to use her easy schedule to run the momentum train right into the final.

With some help, there is little doubt the star could win the whole show at Wimbledon and prove she is one of the top players in the world. Azarenka has the talent, but let’s see if she can put it all together.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Despite having competed on the grass of Wimbledon six times over her professional career, Agnieszka Radwanska has never advanced past the quarterfinals.

This year will be different.

With a clear path through her current quarterfinal foe, Maria Kirilenko, and then Sabine Lisicki or Angelique Kerber in the semifinals, Radwanska has by far the easiest road to the final of all the high seeds left.

The final at Wimbledon is never easy, but the hope is that Radwanska saves enough energy by easily advancing that she just overpowers her competition in the last round.

Check back for more on tennis as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s tennis page to get your fill of all things racquets.

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