Agnieszka Radwanska returns to Li Na during their women's singles quarterfinal match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday. Photo: IC

   

Last year's runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, the highest-ranked player left in the women's draw, moved closer to reaching successive Wimbledon finals after outlasting China's Li Na 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 in an epic last-eight duel on Tuesday.

The Polish fourth seed, seeking her first Grand Slam title after losing in three sets to Serena Williams last year, set up a semifinal showdown with German Sabine Lisicki having staved off a Li fightback, the distraction of two rain interruptions and then squandering seven match points.

Former French Open champion Li wasted chances to take the opening set and then after a short rain break, the sixth seed hit back to take the second from 4-2 down as her aggressive strokes to the corners of the court began to penetrate.

But Radwanska, who had her right thigh heavily strapped up before the start of the decider, regrouped under the now-closed roof following a second rain delay.

She secured a double break but having spurned two match points at 5-1 up, and then, astonishingly another five in the next game. With nerves frayed, she could finally lift her arms to the skies as the never-say-die Li went long.

Earlier on Tuesday, Germany's Lisicki followed up her shock defeat of Williams with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Estonia's Kaia Kanepi to reach her second Wimbledon semifinal.

"It was an amazing match yesterday, but I had to make sure that I had calmed down and was ready for today," said Lisicki, who completed victory in her fourth Wimbledon quarterfinal.

"I have had experience of other years to help me. I also played the semifinals in 2011 so that helped me be ready for today."

Lisicki, who was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the semifinals two years ago, insisted that she felt no pressure coming into Wednesday's match having downed Williams in the fourth round.

It's also a surface she loves - the German's record at Wimbledon stands at 18 wins and just four losses while she is only 16-15 at the three other Slams.

Kanepi has now played and lost six quarterfinals at the majors.

Lisicki showed no signs of a hangover from her two-hour, three-set triumph over Williams 24 hours earlier as the 23-year-old Florida-based German broke the world No.46 Kanepi in the opening game on a half-full Court 1.

She backed it up with another solid break in the ninth game to take the opening set.

Lisicki, whose ranking slumped to 218 in March 2011 as she battled a career-threatening ankle injury, suffered a brief wobble when she was broken for the first time in the third game of the second set by the 2010 quarterfinalist.

But she leveled immediately before going on to claim five of the next six games to clinch victory inside just 65 minutes on the back of 23 solid winners.

Agencies - Global Times