Tennis: Lisicki wants to serve up Classic dish

Opponents have said Sabine Lisicki serves "like a man" but not that long ago the German couldn't even walk.

The 22-year-old enters this week's ASB Classic as the tournament's top seed after a fabulous 2011 that saw her jump from a lowly 218 in April to her present position of 15. The WTA even awarded her the title of Comeback Player of the Year in 2011.

It was quite some comeback. Lisicki suffered an ankle injury in 2010 but, rather than the usual six weeks on the sideline, spent close to six months out of the game. She needed crutches for seven weeks and had to teach herself how to walk again.

Crucially, her game hadn't deserted her and she quickly made an impact on her return, winning in Birmingham and Dallas and becoming only the second player in history to make it to the semifinals of Wimbledon as a wildcard (she also made it to the final of the doubles with Australian Sam Stosur).

"It's been super hard to come back from the injury but I think that my love and passion for the game was why I was able to come back," she said. "I played some incredible tennis, especially at Wimbledon. It was a fantastic year."

It helps when you have a weapon like her serve. She's recorded the fourth-biggest serve in history (201.2 km/h) and the fastest in 2011 and Li Na said after her Wimbledon defeat that Lisicki had "served like a man". The record is held by Venus Williams (207.6 km/h), who was going to play at the ASB Classic before she withdrew because of ongoing problems with her health.

Lisicki will meet wildcard Virginie Razzano, who was as high as 16 in the rankings in 2009, in the first round this week and is seeded to meet compatriot and fourth seed Julia Goerges in the quarter-finals.

"I just want to enjoy myself," she said of her approach to tennis. "It worked last year for me. I worked really hard but had fun on the court.

"It's fun to get the support of the crowd and I hope it will be the same this week. Obviously I want to play my best tennis, especially going into the Australian Open, so I want to win as many matches as possible."

The goals for 2010 champion Yanina Wickmayer are different. Like Lisicki, she's had her troubles with injury and the ASB Classic represents her competitive return after five months out with a back injury.

She doesn't really know what to expect but her injury layoff has made the Belgian appreciate tennis more.

"Five months is a pretty long time," she said. "It feels weird to be back on tour and to see everyone again. I'm really excited. It changed me a little bit, too. I am looking at things differently now. I'm just going to enjoy myself.

"[Being out] makes you realise there's not only tennis in life and there are other parts in life that are important. It's also important to be healthy on court. If you don't have pain, and you can play, it's a thing you should enjoy. Sometimes we forget that. It's beautiful what we are doing.

"I just want to play my matches without pain and try to look where I am - to find the level I'm at and see what I still need to work on. There's no pressure on my shoulders now."

Her ranking of 26 means she enters this week as the tournament's seventh seed and will meet a qualifier in the first round before a possible quarter-final against former world No 2 and tournament third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The biggest interest in the first round will be in New Zealand No 1 Marina Erakovic, who takes on US Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber, and fellow 'Kiwi' Sacha Jones, who last week controversially announced her intention of playing for Australia in 2012. Jones, who received a wildcard, plays Great Britain's Elena Baltacha.