LONDON, England (AFP) — World number one Maria Sharapova crashed out of Wimbledon yesterday, while four-time winner Serena Williams and defending champion Petra Kvitova survived major scares to reach the quarter-finals.

Sharapova had been a finalist in three of the last four Grand Slams, and arrived at Wimbledon on a high after winning the French Open for the first time last month.

But the top seed came back down to earth with a bump on Court One as German 15th seed Sabine Lisicki avenged last year’s Wimbledon semi-final defeat against the Russian with a 6-4, 6-3 fourth round victory.

Lisicki had lost in the first round of her last four tournaments, but she has hit form at the right time and the 22-year-old’s reward is a last eight meeting with compatriot and eighth seed Angelique Kerber.

Kerber demolished Kim Clijsters, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Such a humbling defeat was a cruel way for Belgium’s Clijsters to say her Wimbledon farewell as the four-time Grand Slam winner prepares to retire after the US Open.

American sixth seed Williams narrowly avoided the same fate as Sharapova as she dug deep to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.

Serena looked set to cruise through as she took the first set in emphatic fashion, but Kazakh wildcard Shvedova has been in superb form, winning all 24 points and dropping none in a Golden Set against Sara Errani in the previous round, and she responded impressively to force the American to a final set.

Williams, also taken to three sets by Zheng Jie in the previous round, showed why she is a 13-time Grand Slam champion as she finally subdued her gritty opponent to set up a fascinating last eight clash with Kvitova.

Kvitova, who defeated Sharapova in last year’s Wimbledon final to clinch her first Grand Slam title, had cause for concern in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Italian 24th seed Francesca Schiavone.

Unseeded Austrian Tamira Paszek beat Italy’s Roberto Vinci, the 23rd seed, 6-2, 6-2 to book her place in the quarter-finals for the second successive year.

Paszek will play second seed Victoria Azarenka, a beaten semi-finalist last year, after the reigning Australian Open champion crushed 14th seed Ana Ivanovic, 6-1, 6-0.

Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska completed a bad day for Italian tennis as she cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over qualifier Camila Giorgi.

Radwanska has never been past the last eight at a major, but can end that barren sequence with a win over 17th seed Maria Kirilenko, who beat China’s Peng Shuai, 6-1, 6-7 (8/6), 6-3, to secure her first Wimbledon quarter-final.