Sabine Lisicki Will Continue Improbable Wimbledon Run into Championship Match

Sabine Lisicki has already shocked the world of tennis by upending top-seeded Serena Williams in the fourth round, and the 23rd seed looks poised to continue her run into competing for her first Grand Slam championship. 

Upsets have been the story of action at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club over the past week, but singles No. 1 seeds Novak Djokovic and Williams were untouchable in all of the early-round chaos. 

That is, until Lisicki emerged as a true championship threat by topping Serena 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in certainly the most surprising development so far in London.

Yes, even bigger than Roger Federer's early exit.

And the 23-year-old German wasn't done after creating the biggest storyline of the women's singles tournament. She continued into the quarterfinals, where she beat Kaia Kanepi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. 

Although this year's experience has certainly put her on the map more than any other in her career, it's the second time in four years that Lisicki's made it to the Wimbledon semifinals. She also did so in 2011 as a 21-year-old.

Lisicki showed her prowess as a dominant tennis player in last year's campaign, when she climbed to as high as 12th in the world rankings. Since then, she's dropped to 24th but is sure to cruise back up after this strong showing.

With her victories over Williams and Kanepi, Lisicki has emerged as one of the four semifinalists and will move on to face the top seed remaining in No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska. 

But after seeing what the up-and-coming German was able to do against one of the best tennis players the sport has ever seen, there's no reason to doubt Lisicki.

Williams had her name all over Wimbledon as the absolute favorite, and that belief was only amplified after the losses of Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, among others. But the 23rd-seeded player had something to say about that.

If Radwanska thinks she can walk into the championship match at Wimbledon by cruising past Lisicki, it'll be a long day for the Polish tennis star. 

Lisicki has proven that she can beat the top competition. Stopping Serena in the past year-and-a-half has been more of a fantasy than ever: It was hard to find anyone who didn't think she would win in London this year, especially after the early upsets. 

There's no reason to believe Lisicki won't continue that fairy tale run against the tournament's fourth seed and make her way to the championship match.