London, July 6: Marion Bartoli romped to her first Grand Slam title as the French 15th seed thrashed Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final today.
Bartoli, 28, is the fifth oldest woman to become a first-time Grand Slam winner in the Open Era.
Six years after losing to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final, Bartoli returned to Centre Court and finally ended her long wait for a major crown with a supreme display of power hitting.
She took just 81 minutes to rout 23rd seed Lisicki, who broke down in tears as the match slipped away in the second set.
By finally winning her maiden major title in the 47th Grand Slam appearance of her career, Bartoli surpassed the previous record set by Jana Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998 after 45 appearances at the majors.
Bartoli, who will climb to seventh when the latest world rankings are released on Monday, didn’t drop a single set in her seven matches and is the first Frenchwoman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 2006.
Ironically, Mauresmo has played a key role in Bartoli’s remarkable renaissance over the last two weeks.
Bartoli’s career had been on a downward spiral in recent years and she hit rock bottom in February when she struggled with the emotional decision to move on from her dad Walter, who had coached her since childhood.
She eventually turned to Mauresmo for help after failing to strike up a rapport with a series of coaches.
Her compatriot has brought a calmer approach to Bartoli’s preparations, to the extent that the 28-year-old was even willing to sleep up to 30 minutes before her semi-final win over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday, and her influence was clear to see in the final as Bartoli recovered from a potentially disastrous start.
Bartoli was broken in the first game, but Lisicki then surrendered her own serve in error-strewn fashion. (AGENCIES)
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