The 15th-ranked Lisicki was trailing unseeded German compatriot Angelique Kerber 6-4, 4-3 in a quarterfinal on Thursday when she made the decision to withdraw. The 22-year-old had looked in discomfort throughout the match and left the court after the first set to receive treatment.
Kerber, who upset fifth-seeded German Julia Goerges in the second round— when Goerges was affected by an illness—will face fourth-seeded Flavia Pennetta in Friday’s semifinals. Pennetta beat Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-1 in her quarterfinal.
The other semifinal will be between third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and China’s Zheng Jie.
Former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova beat Italy’s Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3, and the Russian has not dropped a set in the tournament.
Zheng was equally impressive, taking only 59 minutes to beat Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3. Hradecka had ousted second-seeded Peng Shuai of China in the second round, but was unable to match Zheng’s faultless performance.
“I’ve played against Lucie a few times and I knew she liked to play aggressive so I wanted to move her around and it worked very well,” Zheng said.
Lisicki looked well below her best from the start of her match Thursday. While she hit the ball strongly, she moved gingerly and lacked confidence in her serve.
She fell behind 3-0 at the start of the first set, won back the break then lost serve again to trail 5-3 and to give Kerber the chance to serve for the set.
Lisicki broke for 5-4 but immediately dropped serve for a third time to lose the set in just over 40 minutes. She left the court for a lengthy injury break and returned still looking uncomfortable and impeded in her movement.
Lisicki was still able to gain an early service break to lead 3-2 in the second set, but after losing the next two games she signaled to Kerber and the umpire than she couldn’t continue.
“Sure, a win is a win,” Kerber said. “I don’t know what happened to Sabine. I hope she will be ready for Melbourne.
“I feel very good at the moment and I’m just trying to play my best tennis.”
The Australian Open begins on Jan. 16 and Lisicki is likely to head directly to Melbourne to continue her preparation for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
Pennetta, who has yet to drop a set at the Auckland tournament, brushed aside Vesnina in only 68 minutes, converting six of 13 break points. The Italian was a finalist in Auckland in 2010 and was too strong for Vesnina, who was the runner-up in 2009.
After giving up an early break for 2-2 in the first set, world No. 20 Pennetta reeled off six straight games to take charge of the match.
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