Brilliant Bartoli blasts her way to Wimbledon glory after thrashing Lisicki in women's final
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Marion Bartoli served an ace ‘saved for the best moment’, then sank to her knees before scaling the Centre Court stand into her players’ box after winning Wimbledon.
The 28-year-old ditched her father Walter, who had coached her since childhood, in an official capacity earlier this year.
It was he who she embraced strongest as she celebrated the ‘unthinkable’ — a Grand Slam title, after 47 appearances, the most of any first-time champion.
First of many? Marion Bartoli beat Sabine Lisicki to grab her first ever grand slam title
Until next year: Lisicki, who overcame Serena Williams in the fourth round, had to settle for second
‘Those five, 10 seconds before you shake the hands of your opponent, you feel almost like you’re not walking on earth any more,’ said Bartoli.
‘You’re really flying. I was looking at my dad in the players’ box. He was on his phone for almost the whole match, he was really relaxed.
‘It was the perfect day. It was sunny. I won in two sets. I didn’t drop a set for the whole championship.
'Even in my perfect dream I couldn’t have dreamed a perfect moment like that. That is beyond perfection.’
The vanquished Sabine Lisicki sat, head bowed, in her chair, shielded from the sun. The German wept freely having been unable to hold back tears even until the end of the match.
She had frozen in spectacular style on the biggest stage and it was agonising to watch, like witnessing a child fluff their lines at the school concert.
Delighted: Bartoli dominated her opponent to win 6-1, 6-4
Unstoppable: Bartoli was so thrilled at the end she raced to her box to celebrate with her family
She hugged the runners-up silver plate tightly, as if it might take away the pain. ‘I hope I’ll get the chance one more time,’ she said, looking towards her players’ box, her voice cracking.
‘Can I just thank my entire team,’ she said, before breaking into more tears.
The first set was a 30-minute blur of unforced errors from the German. The hammerhead serves which confounded Serena Williams in the fourth round here and earned her the nickname ‘Boom Boom Bini’ in her homeland, were absent.
The Pat Cash moment: Bartoli scrambling up to her box
The moment she realised: Bartoli has avenged her 2007 defeat to Venus Williams
Lisicki took advantage of the only nerves the Frenchwoman betrayed the whole match, breaking in the first game.
But she was broken straight back and was unable to hold serve again as Bartoli raced through the first set, ripping several unanswerable cross-court backhands.
Lisicki screamed towards the players’ box as she netted her usually reliable forehand to give Bartoli the set.
It was the sort of one-sided tennis that would have Bartoli’s compatriot Gilles Simon guffawing.
French fancy: Bartoli was totally dominant in both sets, forcing Lisicki into numerous errors
Bartoli continued her stunning form from Thursday, strolling to a comfortable victory
The French pair rowed at last year’s Wimbledon when Simon said women’s tennis was less entertaining than men’s and so women should be paid less.
Bartoli won the Championships and a £1.6million prize without beating a top-10 player, but this should not detract from her achievement.
It offered some symmetry that one of the strangest Wimbledon Championships, where the biggest names fell with abandon, was won by the most unorthodox woman playing the game.
No ideas: Things just weren't going Lisicki's way as she struggled to penetrate Bartoli's serve
In full flowing quirkiness, Bartoli jogged to the back of the court, bunny-hopped, hit phantom forehands and pumped her fist after almost every point.
Lisicki briefly threatened a comeback in the second set, breaking Bartoli to force her to serve out the match, which she did as aggressively as she played the whole match.
‘To finish on an ace to win Wimbledon and see the chalk come out of the line, I saw it in slow motion. You went through pain, you went through tears and through low moments and it actually happened.’
All at sea: Lisicki struggled to get an rhythm going from the back of the court
Two smiling girls: Neither Bartoli or Lisicki had won a Grand Slam title before this year's Wimbledon
Past winners: Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis were both present in the Royal Box
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2357332/Wimbledon-2013-Marion-Bartoli-win-title-Sabine-Lisicki.html#ixzz2YJIT16TE
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