Sabine Lisicki entered Indian Wells on a downslide, but the former Wimbledon finalist has discovered a resurgence in her game at the Premier Mandatory event.

The German arrived in the California desert with just a single victory in 2015 while enduring five first-round defeats, including a loss to Kristina Mladenovic at the Australian Open. Her lone victory came at the expense of Monica Niculescu in Dubai. It has been a downhill trend for a player who had shown so much potential in the not-so-distant past.

In 2013, the 25-year-old appeared to reach new heights, advancing to the Wimbledon final where she fell to Marion Bartoli. However, 2014 was not a kind year as Lisicki struggled with a shoulder injury early in the season, followed by a wrist injury later. She produced positive results late in the season, earning a title at Hong Kong in September, but she struggled with consistency afterwards.

Some suggested her lack of fitness as a contributing factor to her recent lack of positive results on surfaces aside from grass. But Lisicki is confident that with hard work and stronger training, she will become more competitive on other surfaces, “I believe that I can stand on the square in two or three hours. Even on a hard court,” she said. Hoping to increase her chances of success, she plans to continue to expand her team by looking for an additional trainer.

In the meantime, Lisicki is enjoying success at the BNP Paribas Open with victories this week against Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, and the up-and-coming Caroline Garcia. After her match on Tuesday, she emphasized how pleased she is with her play at Indian Wells thus far.” It is Lisicki’s first appearance in the final eight of a tournament since her Hong Kong title last fall.

However, to continue her success, she will have to go through defending champion Flavia Pennetta, who has historically played quality tennis at Indian Wells. The Italian enters the match off of the heels of a strong victory against Maria Sharapova in the round of 16. It will be the first career meeting between the two competitors. The winner will face either Jelena Yankovic or Lesya Tsurenko, a qualifier who eliminated Eugenie Bouchard on Wednesday.