Introducing The Marion
A New Tennis Blog Celebrating Maximized Potential
Marion Bartoli walked onto Wimbledon’s Center Court to play her second slam final after a season in considerable pain. She was already contemplating retirement from the sport, and would do so a few short months later, but Marion wanted to tread the famous lawn which had been the scene of the biggest previous run of her career — a final she lost to Venus Williams in straight sets, in 2007.
Wimbledon 2013 had been labeled “Wimblegeddon” by fans online, so-called for the fast destruction of many top names, particularly in the women’s draw, and largely due to injury. By the quarter-finals, Li Na and Petra Kvitova were the sole survivors in the draw with major championships to their names. Neither won their matches, the former losing in a flip-flopping three set battle with Agnieszka Radwanska, the latter floundering after an assertive first set to lose 6–4 3–6 4–6 to Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens.
15th seed Marion Bartoli forged on, defeating future US Open champion Sloane Stephens in straight sets. In the semi-final, Marion comfortably rolled over a nerve-ridden Flipkens 6–1 6–2 to reach her second Wimbledon final. She was still considered the underdog.
Her opponent, Sabine Lisicki, was a grass specialist and a master of momentum. En route to the final it had been Lisicki who had ended the run of Serena Williams, not to mention wins over slam winners Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur, as well as 2012 finalist Aga Radwanska.
Marion hit the ball two-handed on each wing. She wasn’t particularly speedy, but she made up for it in power and bullishness, standing deep in the court to cut off angles that would force her to run side-to-side, taking as much time from her opponent as possible. It was a formidable game, one built from mechanical and oft-maniacal repetition, rather than natural skill. It could break or be broken by the elite of the sport, and it was with regularity.
Yet, in her second Wimbledon final, Marion emerged the champion.
Lisicki was on a roll, until she wasn’t. In the pressure cooker of Center Court, the German’s arms looked heavy. Her considerable weapons didn’t fire.
Marion’s did — she played freely, she appeared contained, even closing the match on a rare ace. “Even I couldn’t have believed that,” she joked in her on-court speech. “I have been practicing my serve for so long, at least I saved it until the best moment.”
The dream run Marion had started in 2007 finally came to fruition in 2013. Years of grinding it out in the top 20, and then the right woman, in the right match, on the right lawn. The sole survivor of Wimblegeddon, and not a set lost the entire tournament.
Many had doubted Marion Bartoli throughout her career, but in this moment she had maximized her potential. That’s a story worth telling.
The Marion is a tennis blog that will celebrate the spirit of tennis this journey represents. The grit, the endurance, and the pain of the sport. It will look at the small moments and the large. It will care most about the real people who dare to pick up a racquet and strive to maximize their potential, just like Marion did.
Oh, and I’m its founder, Andrew Eccles.
Ready? Play.
