Getting To Know... Sabine Lisicki

Although the 2008 season is still in its relative infancy, there have been a number of players making names for themselves on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. One such individual is German teenage sensation Sabine Lisicki, who has been embarking upon a steady rise up the rankings and in her run to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open she added world No.6 Anna Chakvetadze to an already impressive list of scalps - containing among others Lindsay Davenport and Dinara Safina.
 
sonyericssonwtatour.com caught up with Sabine in Miami to talk about life on Tour.
 
You have enjoyed a great start to the year. What has been the key behind your success?
I've been working really hard on all aspects of my game after the last year or so and that really started to pay off towards the end of last year when I won two events on the ITF Women's Circuit. This gave me so much confidence which I brought into the new season. Then after coming through qualifying and beating Dinara [Safina] on my way to the third round of the Australian Open I really knew I could compete with the best players.
 
Tell us a little bit about your hometown?
I was born in a small city called Troisdorf in the West of Germany. The city is in between Köln and Bonn, but when I was about 12-years-old I moved with my family to Berlin where I have lived ever since, although now I share my time between Berlin and Florida during the season.
 
How did you first get involved in tennis?
My father is a tennis coach, so I guess we have always had tennis in the family. I think when I was about seven I started to pester him to have lessons and immediately I was addicted! I started to play after school at the LTTC Rot-Weiss, which is where they hold the German Open every year, and I think through my talent and a lot of hard work I started to get quite good. The most important thing for me is that I love the game, so practicing and playing was never a chore and was always something I looked forward to.
 
What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses in your game?
My biggest attribute is definitely my mentality and fighting qualities. I never give in and this has got me through so many tough matches in my tennis career. I think my serve and my fitness have also been improving loads recently, but I think nobody is perfect and even the best players need to work on certain aspects of their game.
 
Who were your tennis heroes growing up?
I always loved to watch Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce. Those two were always my favorites when I was a kid. I really liked how Mary hit the ball so hard and true and this is something I have always tried to copy in my game. I like Martina because she was so clever and even though she wasn't as powerful as someone like Mary she would play smart tennis and use the angles. Another player I always admired was Andre Agassi, as he was such a cool player and always my favorite on the ATP.
 
How is tennis in Germany at the moment?
I think in Germany soccer is always the dominant sport and at the moment tennis is not that big. But I think it is starting to grown and the German Tennis Federation have been really great in supporting and promoting me and fingers crossed we will have some more players coming through in both the men's and women's game.
 
Who are your best friends on Tour?
Even though I haven't been playing the big events for long there are a lot of players around who I have grown up with since a young age. People I played in juniors and have been coming up against since I started to play competitively. Two of my closest friends are Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska, who I get on really well with as we are about the same age and are into the same things.
 
What are the good and bad points of being a professional tennis player?
The thing I enjoy most is probably playing in front of large crowds. Like in Berlin at the German Open it's an amazing feeling to play with that atmosphere and have all those people supporting you. I don't think there is much that I don't like about being on Tour, but I suppose it is difficult being away from home for such long periods of time. Although this is something you get used to and learn to deal with, so it's not too bad.
 
Where is your favorite Tour stop off?
Actually, as a tennis player quite often we won't get to see much of the cities we visit. Usually it's airport... venue... practice... hotel. Although at the Australian Open I got the chance to see a bit of Melbourne and that was really nice and I'm looking forward to going back there next year. Like I said earlier, I really like Berlin because it's my home tournament and I'm also looking forward this year to hopefully going to New York for the US Open and also competing at Wimbledon would be brilliant. I played juniors there and that was so cool and I just love the atmosphere and history of the venue.
 
How do you like to unwind when you are away from the tennis court?
I don't really have any unusual hobbies. I guess just what any 18-year-old would do, hang out with friends, listen to music, oh and I also enjoy reading and playing the piano. As far as my music tastes go, it is nothing too crazy. My favorites at the moment are probably Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, who I think are pretty cool.
 
What do you think you would have done if you hadn't become a tennis player?
Since I was young all I have really wanted to do was be a tennis player and so I've never really thought too much about other careers or anything. I quite like design and fashion, so maybe if tennis hadn't worked out I would have tried to go into something to do with that.
 
What are your goals for the remainder of the season?
I have been rising up the rankings pretty fast this season and now I'm hoping to break into the Top 100 as soon as possible. After getting to the fourth round in Miami I think I will be pretty close. But once I'm in the Top 100 I can get into all the majors and hopefully I can continue to improve from there.