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One of the
strangest Wimbledons
produced one of its
quirkiest champions
in Marion Bartoli, the
winner of a mistake-
filled final that left the
overwhelmed runner-
up in near tears
during the match.
Bartoli, whose power
game bothered Sabine
Lisicki as much as any
of her notable
eccentricities, won 6-1,
6-4 Saturday to
capture her first Grand
Slam title in her 47th
appearance at a
major.
"I dreamed about this
moment for so long,"
Bartoli said during her
on-court interview.
She addressed Lisicki,
who was shaking and
in tears when she
received the runner-
up trophy.
"I was there in 2007
and I missed it," said
Bartoli, the runner-up
to Venus Williams that
year. "I know how it
feels, Sabine, and I'm
sure you will be there
one more time. I have
no doubt about it."
Indeed, the 15th-
seeded Bartoli played
the part of the
experienced veteran.
After losing serve with
a pair of double-faults
in the first game, she
ticked off 11 of the
next 12.
The 23rd-seeded
Lisicki was trailing
5-1, 40-15 in the
second set, then came
up with a rally from
out of nowhere -
unexpected
considering she was
almost weeping on the
court minutes earlier.
"I was just
overwhelmed by the
whole situation, but
credit to Marion,"
Lisicki said. "She's
been in this situation
before and handled it
well."
Lisicki saved three
match points and then
pulled within 5-4.
But after a tense
changeover, Bartoli
served the match out
at love, dropping to
her knees after hitting
an ace on match
point, then climbing
the wall into the
players box to
celebrate with 2006
Wimbledon champion
Amelie Mauresmo -
the last Frenchwoman
to win a Grand Slam
title - and her friends
and family.
"Maybe a backhand
winner but just not an
ace," Bartoli said
when asked how she
imagined she might
close her first
Wimbledon title. "I've
been practicing my
serve for so long. At
least I saved it for the
best moment."
A memorable day for
her wasn't such a
beauty for tennis. The
players' 39 unforced
errors included 11
double-faults. They
combined for only 36
winners.
This was Bartoli's first
tournament title of
any sort since 2011
and, at 28 years, 9
months, she became
the fifth-oldest first-
time Grand Slam
winner in the Open
era. Before Bartoli,
Jana Novotna had
taken the longest road
to her first Grand Slam
title, winning
Wimbledon in 1998,
her 45th start at a
major.
Wimbledon's newest
champion is awkward
- with a jumping,
twitching, fidgeting
routine before each
point, a service
motion that includes
no bouncing of the
ball and a windup that
begins with crossed
wrists before she
uncoils by arching her
back, stretching her
unbent arm behind
her head, then tossing
the ball. She hits two-
handed groundstrokes
from each side, pumps
her fist after almost
every point.
Whatever it is, it
works. She punished
those groundstrokes,
had no problem with
Lisicki's serve, which
reached as high as 115
mph, and undercut the
notion that only
Serena Williams can
play the power game
in women's tennis.
It was Lisicki who
knocked Williams out
of this tournament in
the fourth round, and
had the big serve and
big groundstrokes to
keep going to her first
career Grand Slam
final.
What an unexpected
final it was.
By the time Lisicki had
ousted Williams, the
Wimbledon draw had
already been shaken
and stirred.
No. 3 Maria Sharapova
lost in the second
round. No. 2 Victoria
Azarenka withdrew
two days after being
injured while slipping
on Court 1 during her
first-round match.
Petra Kvitova, Li Na
and all the other
former Grand Slam
titleholders made their
exits and the final
top-10 seed departed
when Lisicki beat No.
4 Agnieszka
Radwanska in the
semifinals.
And so, Bartoli
became the first
woman to win
Wimbledon without
facing a top-10 seed.
As a result, she'll
move to No. 7 in the
rankings when the
new list comes out
Monday.
Lisicki, meanwhile,
learned a lot in this
one.
Under the bright
sunshine and the glare
of Centre Court, she
lost complete control
of her serve, her game
and her emotions.
After hitting her
second serve into the
bottom of the net
while serving down
3-1 in the second set,
she could be seen
stifling tears as the
pressure of her first
Grand Slam final
caught up with her.
She did the same
during the
changeover, gesturing
at her coaches before
briefly draping a towel
over her head.
Only then did she
gather a bit of
composure, staving
off the three match
points and briefly
making a match of it.
"I still love this
tournament so much,
I still love this court so
much," Lisicki said.
Despite the loss, she'll
make about $1.2
million - not bad for a
player with career
earnings of $2.8
million and three titles
to this point.
Bartoli gets a $2.4
million winner's share
and caps a lifelong
quest.
"Maybe all the candles
I've burned have
helped me," she said.
"It's been my dream
since I was 6 years
old."
Congrats!!!
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