Marion Bartoli defeats Sabine Lisicki to claim maiden Grand Slam triumph, The serve that kissed the chalk and kicked into the stands, pronounced Marion Bartoli, aged 28 and making her 47th Grand Slam appearance, as the 2013 Wimbledon champion.
The French woman, chunky build and cherubic face, who wields her racquet like a paint brush, created her own Picasso, as she raced across the arena and flew into the arms of her father Walter, a medical doctor, who gave up his job to coach his daughter.
A journey that began under a leaky roof on an indoor court in Paris 22 years ago, came wonderfully alive on the sun-drenched Centre Court that stood to a man to applaud the theatre that unfolded before them.
Incidentally, there was a match and a scoreline. Bartoli, who packs a brutal punch for someone who lists Mahatma Gandhi as her role model off the court, beat Sabine Lisicki, the powerful German who was the favourite for the title going into the final, 6-1, 6-4 in 81 minutes.
Bartoli, hugging the Venus Rosewater Dish, said: "I just can't believe it. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would finish the Wimbledon final with an ace. I thought I might close it with a backhand, but never an ace.
When I started my campaign here on Court No. 14, I wouldn't have believed anyone if they told me I would be here in the final, much less holding this trophy. I played my best tennis of the tournament today, I served well, I returned well and I was moving well."
Before thanking her father and her support team, Bartoli had a word for her opponent, "I know how it feels Sabine, but you'll be back in the final. I know, because you deserve it."
Going into the title round, no one gave the 'unlikely' finalist much of a chance against a player whose powerful serves and stinging strokes had knocked out five-time champion Serena Williams and last year's finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, but Bartoli believed, and on a bright and beautiful summer afternoon in this leafy suburb of London, she showed she belonged.
After a hesitant start, when Bartoli fell behind double breakpoint in her opening service game, the Geneva-based pro, presently coached by the last Frenchwoman to win on these courts, Amelie Mauresmo, weighed-in with her two-handed groundstrokes. She took the early ball, eating into the reaction time of her big-hitting opponent, hurrying her up and forcing the errors.
Lisicki, who smiled her way into the final, romancing the crowd, was quickly in tears as her opponent won six straight games to seal the opening set.
After the first set, Lisicki, who was struggling with nerves, took a toilet break. American legend John McEnroe called it, 'ludicrous'. Lindsay Davenport, a former champion here, asked, "Seriously. A bathroom break after just 30-minutes?"Marion's records
Marion Bartoli sets a new record by winning her first Grand Slam in the 47th attempt. She surpassed the previous record set by Jana Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998 after 45 appearances at the majors.
At 28 years, 9 months, she is the fifth oldest first-time winner in the Open Era.
She is the sixth woman in the Open Era to win Wimbledon without dropping a set, it has happened nine times in total.
She is the first woman to win Wimbledon in the Open Era playing double-handed off both sides.
KNOW BARTOLI
World ranking: 15 (will move to 7)
Age: 28 (Oct 2, 1984)
Coach: Amelie Mauresmo
Career singles titles: 8
Grand Slam singles titles: 1
Career prize money: $10,897,902
Wimbledon prize money: £1.6m
HER QUIRKS
On court, the woman from Le Puy en Velay, France is a livewire, rarely standing still between points as she goes through a series of manic routines which include practice swings, running on the spot and pumping her fists.
There are shades of Rafael Nadal about the Geneva resident's on-court demeanour as she sometimes sprints back to the chair after game points.
Bartoli revealed a pre-match nap in the locker room was the secret of her success in an earlier round.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Marion Bartoli defeats Sabine Lisicki to claim maiden Grand Slam triumph
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