Astunning victory over number-four seed Svetlana Kuznetsova put Poland’s Agnieszka Radwańska into the last eight at Wimbledon this week, only to be crushed by Serena Williams in a very flat quarter-final encounter that nevertheless left fans at home raving about the teenage sensation.

Radwańska, still only 19, came from 4-1 down in the final set against the Russian to win 6-4 1-6 7-5 in the fourth round on Monday. It was the second time she had reached the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament and looks likely to push her into the world top ten when revised rankings are announced after Sunday’s final.

She looked tired and uncertain against an in-form Serena Williams, however, whose powerful serve and ground strokes from the back of the court proved too much two days later, Radwańska succumbing 6-4, 6-0.

Nevertheless, the teenager from Krakow has raised the hopes of a tennis community in Poland that has lived through a three-decade dry spell since the days of Wojciech Fibak in the 1970s.

“This is a huge success for Polish sport - a Pole in the last eight at Wimbledon!,” Fibak told daily Gazeta Wyborcza this week. “Agnieszka’s name will now be on everyone’s lips ... in Buenos Aires, Tokyo or Los Angeles.”

Radwańska’s younger sister Urszula also fell prey to Williams in the second round of this year’s tournament, her first-ever visit to Wimbledon, and hopes are high that the pair can both hold spots in the world’s top ten in the near future.