Lisicki adds another scalp to collection

That the 19-year-old Briton – by way of Melbourne and Singapore – should get that far was always in the balance, considering her Estonian opponent yesterday, Kaia Kanepi, is a battle-hardened campaigner who had previously reached the quarter- finals here. But it was rather more remarkable that the world No.1 and five-times winner should also be sent packing. Indeed, in a tournament of surprises, the demise of Williams even to a such a talented grass courter as Germany's Sabine Lisicki may have to go down as the mummy and daddy of them all.

The dominance of the youngest Williams sister circa 2013 might not be quite what it was in 2002 – when she recorded the so-called "Serena Slam" by holding all four titles concurrently – but neither is it far off it. This defeat spiked a 34-match winning streak, and was only her fourth loss since last year's Roland Garros – as Lisicki joined the likes of her countrywoman Angelique Kerber, Sloane Stephens and Viktoria Azarenka in the list of women brave enough to take her scalp during that period. Another list of names was equally pertinent last night as Serena joined Svetlana Kuznetsova, Na Li and Maria Sharapova in the register of reigning French Open champions Lisicki had dethroned at SW19. An indignant Serena said such factors meant her 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 defeat wasn't such a big upset, after all.

"It's definitely not a shock," said Williams. "I don't know if you've heard, but she's a great grass-court player. She has a massive, massive serve. She should be ranked higher. So going in there you have to know that it's definitely not going to be an easy match. I feel like of all the round-of-16 ties, I probably had the toughest one. She's not a push-over. She was definitely reading my serve. I think also maybe I could have mixed it up more and I didn't play the big points well enough."

Williams took recourse to sarcasm when she insisted her disappointment was entirely unconnected with the fact that for once she was deprived of the company of her father, Richard, mother, Oracene Price, and sister, Venus. "I'm 31, you know," she said. "I really have to go back to the drawing boards if I can't compete without one of them here. I really need to re-evaluate my life."

Lisicki came out swinging and raced to the first set 6-2, but such early dominance was forgotten when she surrendered the second 6-1 and was hanging on for dear life at both 3-0 and 4-2 in the third. "I felt I was on the verge of winning," Serena said. Lisicki thought otherwise. With the American's first serve deserting her, a couple of service breaks later, it was the German who was throwing herself to the turf in delight.

A quarter-finalist or better four times here now, Lisicki professed her undying love for this patch of South West London and said she had drawn inspiration from her status as the serial slayer of Roland Garros champions. "It gave me more energy knowing that I beat the French Open champion three times in a row in my last three appearances," she said. "I guess it was a good omen."

While there were tears of delight for Lisicki, Robson was left sobbing quietly to herself after her dream of being the first home quarter-finalist since Jo Durie back in 1984 evaporated on Court No 1. On paper, there was little between her and Kanepi – Robson is ranked 38 in the world and her Estonian rival 46th – and so it proved as she went down 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 in a match which was about whoever held their nerve best at the big moments.

It had seemed for all the world like Robson would emerge strongest when a backhand struck the Kanepi frame to see her break for 5-4, eliciting a guttoral, football-style roar from the stands. But, for all the work coach Miles Maclagan has been doing on her serve, it remains susceptible at moments of stress, and a double fault was partly culpable as Kanepi broke straight back. The pattern recurred in the tie-break; Robson roaring to a 5-2 advantage, only for a double fault to bring matters level again at 5-5. For every swashbuckling Robson winner, it seemed there was an unforced error or two and when one last forehand ended in the tramlines the breaker belonged to Estonia, 8-6.

It was a body blow from which Robson never recovered, as she lost the second set to a solitary service break in the 11th game, and was done for on Kanepi's fifth match point. Afterwards, the 19-year-old said she would continue to work with Maclagan but struggled to put her tournament into context.

"It's just been this overwhelming experience," she said. "Crazy but in a good way. You know, I'm hoping to do better next year. At the end of the first set, I had my chances. I served for it. In the tie-break, as well. At that point, I was just trying to will myself to play unbelievable tennis when just making a serve would have been fine. But, as cliched as it sounds, it's all part of the learning experience."

Although Sloane Stephens, Na Li, Petra Kvitova and Marion Bartoli all progressed, the highest remaining seed is Agnieszka Radwanska, a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 winner against Tsvetana Pironkova.

Her progress capped a stunning day for that country during which Lukasz Kubot and Jerzy Janowicz set up a first all-Polish quarter- final at the All England Club. Now that is a last-eight match-up which no-one would have been brave or foolish enough to predict.