Well, well, well.
Approaching Wimbledon this year, most people would name Serena Williams as the strongest candidate to win the tournament after her fantastic performance at Roland Garros. Some others would mention the likes of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, as the two have had a pretty solid year so far, with the former successfully defending her Australian Open title and the latter reaching the final at Roland Garros. Also take Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon champion in 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (last year's runner-up) into consideration. And a great amount of tennis fans would mention the possibility of two of those players playing each other in the final.
Guess who took home the Venus Rosewater Dish? Marion Bartoli.
For hardcore fans like I am, Marion is far from being unknown. Most famous perhaps for her on-court antics--until yesterday anyway--and one-of-a-kind style of play, she has always been a dangerous player. Although often inconsistent throughout a season, I admit that I always shudder when one of my favourite players has to play her. Her game may be unorthodox, but there lays her strength. Lack of such a playing style on the tour enables her to surprise her opponents on court, making them sometimes unsure what to do against her. And, boy, what a calm player she is. She does not get intimidated easily, and her focus is something to be aware of. She has a great concentration that is not easy to break, even with the crowd against her like during her quarterfinal match against Sloane Stephens (an incredibly talented youngster, I may add). In that match Marion complained to the umpire because it started to rain and the court was getting slippery, yet the umpire had not stopped play. She--naturally and understandably--wanted the match to be suspended until the weather got better, and the crowd (most of whom wouldn't want to play tennis on a slippery court, I'm certain...) did not like it. Some nasty boos followed. Incredibly, it hardly affected her and she still matched her way to the semifinals in straight sets.
Also, she was not all that unfamiliar with big stages. Remember, she reached the final at Wimbledon in 2007, defeating then-World No. 1 Justine Henin (!), who had been playing perhaps the best tennis of her career, in the semifinals. Although Marion eventually lost to Venus Williams in the final, the world finally noticed her. Not only because she managed to take out big names--a prove that she does not get intimidated easily by whom she faces on court, but also because of her unorthodox game and 'quirky' antics on court.
On the other hand, her opponent in the final, Sabine Lisicki, in the tournament constantly reminded us how much she loves Wimbledon. She had a tough draw but pulled through. In the fourth round she beat defending champion Serena, whom a lot of people said would take the title easily. My God, those aces Sabine blasted! It was a very good quality tennis with many amazing shots and rallies. In the quarterfinals she successfully backed her huge win over Serena with a straight-set win over Kaia Kanepi--a dangerous player a lot of people love to forget. And in the semifinals...what a match it was against highest seed remaining and last year's runner-up Aga. Against Serena she was down 0 - 3 in the final set but won it 6 - 4. Against Aga she was down 1 - 3 and she won the set...9 - 7. It was quite an emotionally draining match (for my part because I've been a fan of Sabine since four years ago), and she showed the world that one always has to be careful when playing her, for there is always a possibility that she will turn the match around. She was also quick to charm spectators with her always-present smile, visible enjoyment on court, and friendliness to fans (did you notice that she signed ALL items shoved--for lack of a better word--to her by fans after her matches?).
The final lineup was not what one would expect for a Grand Slam final, with both players being ranked outside the Top 10. Nevertheless, the prospect of a new Grand Slam champion is always exciting. I do enjoy the consistency of top players in the WTA Tour, but we also need some other names in-between. Despite many people said that this year's Wimbledon was 'chaos' and 'total disaster' with many big names losing early, all credits should go to Marion and Sabine. They're not some obscure players who oh-so-suddenly take out big names and march their way to the final stage (it breaks my heart to see some people speak--or write, for that matter--of the two as such). Even casual tennis fans who only watch tennis during the Grand Slams should be familiar with those two, with Marion having reached a Grand Slam final before and Sabine always reaching at least Wimbledon quarterfinals since 2009 (except in 2010 when she was out with an ankle injury).
The match was quite far from epic, though. Perhaps overwhelmed with reaching her very first Grand Slam final after scoring big wins (among them against Sam Stosur, Serena, and Aga), Sabine seemed to be unable to hold herself together. She could not even use her massive serve as a main weapon (she held her serve only twice during the match). Whereas Marion again showed why her focus, concentration, and calmness are things to worry about by other players. Of course, combined with the fact that she was more experienced in such a big stage, nerve did not overcome her--unless perhaps when she got broken in the very first game (the only time she got broken in the match, but it was far from 'being overcome'. Naturally, she handled the situation better than Sabine did. And in the style of Petra in 2011, she finished the match with an ace--quite the point of the match. She was the only player in the tournament--men or women--to not lose a set. Sudden joy overcoming, she wasted no time to literally sprint towards the player's box and embrace her team--which included former World No. 1 and French tennis legend Amelie Mauresmo (who happened to win the very same tournament in 2006, defeating Justine in the finaland making me quite depressed over it) and of course her infamous papa Dr Walter Bartoli *hey, I've just realised that both Marion's and Sabine's fathers are doctors!*. Sabine broke into tears which was understandable, but she needs not to worry as, God willing, she will have plenty of chances in the future. She is a good player and the world has hardly any reason to doubt that.
Now, rather than ranting about how Serena lost in the fourth round or how Vika took a nasty fall and got injured or how Maria lost in the second round in straight sets, let's cheer both Marion and Sabine--especially the former, who has showed us that just because she has an unorthodox game and 'quirky' antics on court doesn't meant she cannot achieve something! I'm not a huge fan of Marion myself, but I've come to respect her more and more as the tournament progressed. And I know that the next time I watch her match, I will do so with a brand new interest.
This Wimbledon may be utterly crazy for some, but for me it's just a whole bunch of interesting surprise. For Marion, it's a wonderful blessing that she had been dreaming of for so long. Felicitations, tres bien!
Photos courtesy of Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information, Daily News, ESPN, official twitter page of the Wimbledon Championships, and France 24. All grammatical and spelling errors are mine.
Approaching Wimbledon this year, most people would name Serena Williams as the strongest candidate to win the tournament after her fantastic performance at Roland Garros. Some others would mention the likes of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, as the two have had a pretty solid year so far, with the former successfully defending her Australian Open title and the latter reaching the final at Roland Garros. Also take Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon champion in 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (last year's runner-up) into consideration. And a great amount of tennis fans would mention the possibility of two of those players playing each other in the final.
Guess who took home the Venus Rosewater Dish? Marion Bartoli.
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| Anyone saw THIS coming? |
Also, she was not all that unfamiliar with big stages. Remember, she reached the final at Wimbledon in 2007, defeating then-World No. 1 Justine Henin (!), who had been playing perhaps the best tennis of her career, in the semifinals. Although Marion eventually lost to Venus Williams in the final, the world finally noticed her. Not only because she managed to take out big names--a prove that she does not get intimidated easily by whom she faces on court, but also because of her unorthodox game and 'quirky' antics on court.
On the other hand, her opponent in the final, Sabine Lisicki, in the tournament constantly reminded us how much she loves Wimbledon. She had a tough draw but pulled through. In the fourth round she beat defending champion Serena, whom a lot of people said would take the title easily. My God, those aces Sabine blasted! It was a very good quality tennis with many amazing shots and rallies. In the quarterfinals she successfully backed her huge win over Serena with a straight-set win over Kaia Kanepi--a dangerous player a lot of people love to forget. And in the semifinals...what a match it was against highest seed remaining and last year's runner-up Aga. Against Serena she was down 0 - 3 in the final set but won it 6 - 4. Against Aga she was down 1 - 3 and she won the set...9 - 7. It was quite an emotionally draining match (for my part because I've been a fan of Sabine since four years ago), and she showed the world that one always has to be careful when playing her, for there is always a possibility that she will turn the match around. She was also quick to charm spectators with her always-present smile, visible enjoyment on court, and friendliness to fans (did you notice that she signed ALL items shoved--for lack of a better word--to her by fans after her matches?).
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| Considering how much she loves Wimbledon, no one would tell that she's allergic to grass. |
The match was quite far from epic, though. Perhaps overwhelmed with reaching her very first Grand Slam final after scoring big wins (among them against Sam Stosur, Serena, and Aga), Sabine seemed to be unable to hold herself together. She could not even use her massive serve as a main weapon (she held her serve only twice during the match). Whereas Marion again showed why her focus, concentration, and calmness are things to worry about by other players. Of course, combined with the fact that she was more experienced in such a big stage, nerve did not overcome her--unless perhaps when she got broken in the very first game (the only time she got broken in the match, but it was far from 'being overcome'. Naturally, she handled the situation better than Sabine did. And in the style of Petra in 2011, she finished the match with an ace--quite the point of the match. She was the only player in the tournament--men or women--to not lose a set. Sudden joy overcoming, she wasted no time to literally sprint towards the player's box and embrace her team--which included former World No. 1 and French tennis legend Amelie Mauresmo (who happened to win the very same tournament in 2006, defeating Justine in the final
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| Reaction like this is one of the things that make the prospect of a new Grand Slam champion so exciting. |
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| This photo breaks my heart :-/ I hope she knows that, God willing, there will be plenty of chances for her in the future! |
This Wimbledon may be utterly crazy for some, but for me it's just a whole bunch of interesting surprise. For Marion, it's a wonderful blessing that she had been dreaming of for so long. Felicitations, tres bien!
Photos courtesy of Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information, Daily News, ESPN, official twitter page of the Wimbledon Championships, and France 24. All grammatical and spelling errors are mine.
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