THE PLAYER

So what did we think of Marion's Wimbedon attire, and how she looked in it?

Firstly, I must say that Marion looked in physically awesome condition. Fan friend 'K' said to me "this last year they where saying stuff about her weight,  yet she looks great". JimM and I expressed similar sentiments.
 
People say what they like. But to me, and the smattering of commited tennis people I spoke to at Wimbledon, there was nothing but compliments for Marions condition.

Marion may have some residual injury issues, but in terms of cardiovascular performance, and muscle to height to weight ratio, she appeared in good condition to me. I didnt hear or see chronic breathlessness. She looked athletic. More than plausible. Marion had presence. None of her opponents had that presence.

Winners have presence.

However, One opponent did have something, That opponent was Bethanie Mattek. She didnt have presence. But she had personality, and kind of felt to me secure within her own ability not to allow herself to be overawed by a player  that she lost to before on grass, and a player who was last years Championship runner up. Put simply, Mattek had nothing to lose. Mattek had balls. That's a dangerous kind of opponent to meet.

Ultimately Marion's breakdown, level pegging in the first set, was her undoing in that match. Her court presence evaporated under  a sullen introverted face and threatening brooding skies. Some may say the 'presence' was only ever a masquerade in the first place, and that underneath lay insecurity.  But when so many older people are mouthing off in the media, media-savvy people who should know better, then one can see just how ones sense of self could be undermined, just a little.

It's less than honorable to disrobe a princess at the point of succession to her throne. 2nd in line. The runners up crown. It's less than honorable to hit someone if they are down. It's less than honorable to sow seeds of doubt at a time of questioning. This is what some have been doing.  

It's a testimony to Marion's resilience that she remains outwardly impervious to it all..Good for her! In time she will eclipse the shady  voices with bright success, She'll get there.

Despite her viral and fatigue issues, Marion simply looked awesome.. up until 4-5 against Mattek.

A  gypsy crusade cantoring from court to court.. Holding court, among the ghosts of kings, queens, and heros, past  and present. Does gypsy crusade sounds like a contradiction? Then believe me, it's entirely intentional.

THE COSTUME

I thought it was a winner. It isnt easy to stand out when everyone else is wearing white also, but Marion managed to stand out. Bold, but not loud. Robed wonderfully so.

I'm no expert, but that kneckline looked kind of 1930's or 40's to me. As if the fashionable bathing costumes of yesteryear are reincarnated on 21st century tennis courts. There does seem to be a strong retro theme going on just now, for example the navy blue outfit Maria Sharapova wore at the French Open, and Roger Federer's own exclusive wardrobe.

Just thinking about it, these retro styles which hark beck to a more genteel era, also invoke a certain glamorous elitism that belongs to that era. As the wheels of fashion turn full circle, maybe we are seeing something of a backlash against the brassy bling-bling urban styles that Serena is known to sport - The big chavvy earrings and such. But I gladly admit, I wear that stuff myself.!

Queen Venus's own, 11, clothing, aspires to something a bit more classic.

It's my understanding Marion isnt sponsored by Nike. They just supply the kit.

Marions outfit evokes homespun memories for me, of freshly baked bread and mamas powdered bussom... .ok, I just made all of  that up lol... BUT...  One thing that is true is that Marion's white outfit  with a bold plunging red 'V', and slender red trim looks a wee bit similar to the kit of the little Scottish football team I followed as a kid - Airdrie.

Airdrie are nicknamed The Diamonds, If Marion  was decked out as a playing card, then judging by her outtfit, she'd be Queen Of Diamonds. Ahh, and that brings us back to James Bond again.... Diamonds Are Forever!

Marion likes football.. so excuse my little end of semester diversion. 

So then, red (my favorite color hehe) and white for the site revamp over at www.marion-bartoli.net?  Or something a little more Picasso... 

Whent Flushing Meadows arrives Marion, give them Gernica.

Hm, is that last bit in bad taste?

The Wimbledon Tedddybear on Henman Hill.. Let's name the teddy.......... Bartoli Bear!!

(AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Shaking hands with Sabine Lisicki upon completion of a straight sets victory on centre court on Monday night.

(AFP/Getty)

Victorious- Could Marion be Wimbledon Champion this year ?

(AFP/Getty)

Classic Bartoli return, during another straight sets win against Tatiana Peribiynis on Wednesday.

(AFP/Getty)

Of course she can fly.. She's Supermarion!!
(AFP/Getty)

Frying Pan double forehand against Bethanie Mattek on Friday.
(AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Gloomy skies, but no fortuitous rain breaks where forthcoming.

(AFP/Getty)

Marion, what's wrong.. please dont retire.
(AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Looking like a naughty schoolgirl being told to go stand in the corner. From a break up in the first set against Bethanie Mattek, Marion soldiers on bravely, but her game collapses due to injury once again. It's all over.

Saturday, the shirt arrived too late for the trip, it came during my absense. The shirt that wont ever be worn now. C'est la vie

Wimbledon 2009. Here we come.

Q. You seem to be having trouble with your shoulder. Is it injured, and how long has it been troubling you?

MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, today I had a stiff shoulder. I don't know why. But I couldn't serve for sure at the pace I normally serve, so of course I know it was difficult for me to win the match, and especially on grass. But it's happening.

Q. Did it just start in the match, or had it been troubling you before?

MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, I don't know if it's the weather or the conditions or something. But yeah, when I wake up this morning, my shoulder was really hurting me.

Q. How far did you expect to get this tournament?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, I never set myself goals in terms of results, I qualify or semifinal or whatever. I just wanted to play some great tennis, which I was able to do the first two rounds, but today was just not a good day for me.

Marion is out of Wimbledon. She suffered a 6-4 6-1 defeat to resurgent American Bethanie Mattek.

Even at 4-4 all in the first set it was clear Marion was having difficulty in some way. Getting a little frustrated and throwing her racquet.

The way her head was buried in the towel made me anxious that she was possibly going to retire in the first set.

Perhaps she stuck it out because it's Wimbledon, and because she's Marion.

She recieved injury time outs for shoulder and leg issues.

Her serve was poor today. But again, I noticed Marion shrugging and trying to loosen her shoulders early on. Indicative of some injury or shoulder cramp from the beginning of the match.

The conditions were changeable but mostly pretty cool. I'm sitting below the tv studio and should put a cardigan on. A bit cool for optimal sporting performance.

I got a text message from friends watching the match on tv. They say that as per usual the commentators are massacaring Marion's game and everything about her.

If true, I find that very dissapointing. But Marion will be back. You cant brow beat a player into abandoning their own game. Even if the purists consider Marion's game abberant.

You cant correct a horse and produce good results by punishing it.

A fellow Marion fan sitting next to me described her as being out of sorts today. That's a more rational appraisal.

One game that went to 9 or 10 deuces was a tough one to take when Mattek held on.

There was one rally at Adv Marion, in which she could have sought to kill the point earlier before Mattek did. But it wasnt to be.

Mattek was hitting the ball short, and Marion just wasnt getting a racquet to balls that she was able to last year. It's as if Bethanie Mattek observed the things that Perebiynis got success with, and then copied it.

When Marion hits the proverbial wall, the moment in a match when these residual injuries kick in, her game just collapses. We saw it against Pertra Cetkovska at Birmingham., and throughout this season.

She'll be back. Sharapova went out. Ivanovic fluked it against Dechy and in down a set against Zheng. So what i'm saying is the womens game is pretty open at the moment. Marion can beat any of them on her day. It was always going to be hard to repeat last year. But she'll be back, and I believe she can win Wimbledon one day.

Take care Marion. It's ok to be sad for a little while. To cry for a little while. I'll join you *tissues*

Thanks for the joy you brought this week. May your time come round again. And may you grasp it when it does.

BE STRONG! WE LOVE YOU SUPER MARION!!

* * * * * * *

I'll put pics up in a minute. But wont be able to update the website until tommorrow probably.

Marion will be back on court 11 again for her match against Bethanie Mattek tommorrow.

It's 2nd in the order of play, immediately after the Chakvetadze v Rodina ladies singles.

Mattek has improved her ranking lately, from the 120 mark to sub 70. However she's probably best know for her cour attire. Such as wearing soccer kit on centre court a few years ago. As I remember, she was in reciept of an almost double bagel from Venus.

Anyways....

Experimenting with a youtube channel

http://youtube.com/marionbartolifanblog

Sleep well Marion.

Click on a pic for a larger view.

Aplogies for the resizing error on the earlier entry.

WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS > LONDON > GRAND SLAM GRASS > R2

Marion marches on into the third round.

The wind was delaying Marions ball toss and first serve.

Sometimes Perebiynis doing drop shots that Marion didnt get to. Not mixing it up, just taking a few cheap points. But that trick didnt lasy long, as Marion adjusted her game.

The first set Peryibinis looked limp against Marion's powerful returns. And also, Marion's speed of serve seemed pretty fast too.

Marion came back from a double break and 5-2 down to win the match. That is just exactly what a top player does.

Marion made adjustments and started pulling her opponent out wide.

She showed that heroism I was on about this morning.

You know something, it is a trully beautiful site to behold the 's' shape Marion makes when hit's a two handed return out wide then suddenly changes direction. These deeply beautiful idiosyncracies.

Some of the line calls where a bit dodgy.. A few things where getting on her case. But she extracted unforced errors from Peribyinis at will when it mattered. 

Ok I'm blogging this here just below the tv studio, a happy Marion fan.

Back into town now. More later.

Well done Marion.

PS. The building with the glass facade in the background is the millenium building. I could see Marion and Walter from court 11, sitting in the same place as they did on Monday.

edited 21:33

Here's hoping I get into the grounds in time,.... Que looks a bit thinner today. Maybe cos of dubious weather forecast. Maybe meeting JimM too..

order of play.

M. Bartoli v T. Peryibinis

2nd match on Court 11.

play starts at 12 noon.

This is from the online edition of the Independent;

By Nick Harris
Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Politics! Marion!!

Segolene didnt make it, so maybe MARION can be the first female president of France!

Maybe those wonderful contradictions are partly why I identify with M. For if i'm like that myself.

Well now, Ayn Rand maybe an empathy-deficient psychopath lol, but her defence of that very French value, Liberty... And her assertion of the individual, and of heroism... Is very in keeping with our Super Marion!!

I like this... For you, Magic Marion...

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not quite, the not yet, the not at all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."
Ayn Rand

Dont allow them to write you off or ignore you Marion, dont let the bad run drag you down. Dont be average. Your back on grass now. Your playing well. Be your wonderful individualist, exceptional, self. Be a hero today...

CUMMON MARION!!!

edited 10:58

WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS > LONDON > GRAND SLAM > GRASS > R1

After standing at the back of court 2 for 7 hours, on top of 3 hours waiting for admission to the grounds, and  on top of a 19 hour journey to reach those grounds.. I can say that come 8 o clock lastnight I genuinely felt fantastic.. because it doesnt get any better than seeing ones gladiator perform victory in the colluseum of tennis heroism. Seeing her stand on the very same ground where once stood her own inspiring legends Monica Seles and Pete Sampras.

As the day wore on it was becoming apparent that Marion’s match was unlikely to get under way on court 2, considering the overrun.

At around half past six, I happened to notice Marion and her father arrive in the players restaraunt which overlooks court 2. Just doing the usual things, father attentively fetching her racquets I assume back from the stringers. And enjoying a little carbohydrate or sugar boost while waiting for the mens singles match to conclude.

Around half past 7, they both left the lounge in rather a hurry.. hmmm I thought.. 

Sure enough, half an hour later the scoreboard on the outside of centre court lit up with the names Bartoli and Lisicki.

I ran out of court 2 and up Henman Hill, dodging the hoards like a fugitive loose on a public highway, or a chase in a James Bond movie, just to see if the match was being shown on the big screen.

Nope.

Big screen was only showing the usual plucky-Brit cannon fodder.

Glancing to my left I noticed a sign on a portacabin which said, Resale Tickets here.. et voila.. I purchased one for centre court, which was issued for somewhere up in the back rows.

I ran back down to centre court.

Luckily because the court was rather sparsely filled for what was after all a match reassigned from another court, the steward directed me to sit at the front.

There I was, in the corner of centre court, diagonally opposite the coaches box where her father sat, and metres from where Marion stood to serve. Cruising towards a four love lead.

At one in ambition, Intuiting the same reverie. The first step to Venus.  

And so under fading light Marion shone brightly on centre court. Defeating Sabine Lisicki 6-2 6-4.

The last match Marion played in centre was last year’s final - If the crowd was a little more sparse last night, the sense of occasion itself wasn’t lost on Marion. At home amidst SW19's verdant charms. Efficiently dispatching her opponent out of the tournament in less than 90 minutes.

From the outset Marion had to stamp her authority and status on the match, and that’s just what she did as she raced into a four games to love lead.

Towards the end of the set Lisicki just about managed to register her presence on court, but whatever she did, Marion did better. A lot of the time Marion just had to step inside the baseline a little, and wait for the errors, double faults, and limp second serves to come off the head of Lisicki’s racquet. The German, with her back turned to the screen, reduced to hoping against hope on line challenges that merely postponed her inevitable fate.

The Bartoli serve was on message, and the returns not far off the accuracy she achieved at Wimbledon last year. Whenever just a touch of magic was required, such as a world class angled winner at the net late in the first set (reminiscent of a similar one against Kleybanova at Eastbourne) or finishing off a rally with an audacious lob that stunned the crowd by dropping inside the baseline, Marion was signalling through her play that every year she visits Wimbledon from now on wont be just to make up the numbers, but to win the trophy.. Irrespect of how many times she is overlooked as a title contender by esteemed experts.

Marion’s commitment and aggression was expressed wit a loud’n’gutsy “cummon” during a critical moment of the 2^nd set. Maybe she was unconsciously picking up on me saying it repeatedly. Probably not, her cummon was oh so much more wonderfully fierce than mine.

With breaks early in the second set for both players, Lisicki threatened to at least prolong the match. But Marion just Pete Samprased her way through game after game, grinding down the resistance of her opponent, earning copious break points, and converting a sufficient number of them to seal the match.

In acknowledgement of their support, Marion took the unusual step of walking up stairs several rows behind the umpire’s chair, to hand a match towel to a group of flag-carrying French fans who had been vocal in their good support for Marion throughout the match.

As I exited centre court I heard Marion interviewed in Wimbledon Radio, replete with optimism that “maybe this year I can go one better than the final.” Asked about Mr. James Bond aka Pierce Brosnan, she said it would be nice if he attended Wimbledon again to add further inspiration to her aspiration, just as he did last year.

Well done Marion. Tatiana Perebiynis in the next round on Wednesday.  

So I’ll be hopping on the tube down to Southields again tomorrow.

Couple of other things, the stewarding at Wimbledon is 5 star – friendly, courteous, helpful. Reminicent of an England not much in evidence anymore.

Secondly, The cameraphone was set to Basic quality to conserve the remaining battery power, so the pics and vids are poor.

I will get a proper digicam at some point. But the poor quality pics do at least show my vantage point.

I’ll post professional pics later.

Lastly, I just want say hi to the girl from wtaworld whom I had a nice chat with between games during the Kuznetsova match.

She's 4th on court 2, the infamous graveyard of the seeds...... Oooooohh Marion. Cummon babe! Assert thyself!

Start 12. Probably about 3 or 4 then. Should get in the grounds.. And maybe court 2 by then.

battery almost dead but their handing out free cameras

Hot... Well, it is to me lol, compared to my freezing little corner of the far north of Scotland.

A few Saltire Scotland flags here. But I feel quite ambivalent towards Andy Murray. British first! Dont like the way he has alienated the good and decent people at Wimbledon, who come to cheer him on.

Jamie's ok though.

Anyways that's enough of Andy Murray hmph. This is a Bartoli Blog

Me looking austerre, eyes squinting in the morning Wimbledon sunshine.

Taken 45 minutes ago.. and still the crowd continues to swell!

Go Go Go Super Marion Bartoli!!! Show everyone what you can do. GO GIRL!

The last time I was down London I went to see the Spice Girls and visited the Wimbledom museum. But on this trip what I want , What i really really want..... Is for Marion to win Wimbledon. The BBC showed a brief interview with her during Eastbourne. One of the things that stuck in mind was her saying how when she was a child it was always the Wimbledon trophy she dreamed of holding. Even though she is French, her cherished dream was Wimbledon. 

Marion also spoke of how she felt last year was her time, and that reaching the final, good as is was, still left her feeling  a bit disappointed. For she wanted deeply to win the tournament . Had expectation.

What she said in that interview struck a chord with me. I don’t want to come across all religious, because i’m not. I don’t even attend church anymore.. but round by round from the beginning of the tournament i just said a little prayer for Marion.

I remember how ecstatic I was after she beat Jankovic, that I told everything to the person who runs the myspace account. I have since been informed that isn’t Marion. The person must have thought I was Borderline lol.

My most vivid memory is of how after losing the first set of the semi final against Henin, I prayed again. Without going into detail I basically said, well if she is to win this now from here it will take something of a miracle, a sign. 

The miracle happened that day.

So why didn’t she win the final? I don’t know does God concern himself with superficialities like sport? And why would God be partial to one player and not another?

I don’t know. I don’t have answers to these things. I can only tell you the story, and let you judge for yourself, whether or not it was destiny, or just some quirky coincidence. And yes I know publishing this on the blog opens me up to potentiaj ridicule. But it guess it seems right to share a year on, with Wimbledon here again. After all, it’s these things, everything that’s happened, which has led me on my continuing Bartoli fan odyssey, and to the place I am headed for tonight. SW19.

Well that was my plan anyway... But unfortunately I left all my spare phone batteries at home. I'm dissapointed about this. My hopes of blogging from Wimbledon in real-time uploading pics, wont be possible... tommorrow at least anyway.

Tommorrow evening when I get back to the hotel i'll update the website on the laptop. The website doesnt work on the phone. Only the blog.

Well, I set out at 3pm this afternoon. Be in London 7am tommorrow. So if anyone knows of a phone shop in the Victoria area where I can get Nokia batteries, then do tell!

In the meantime i'm going to waste the laptop battery watching the film... Yes you guessed it... Wimbledon!

Rest well Marion, and good luck!

WOMENS INTERNATIONAL OPEN / EASTBOURNE UK / GRASS / TII / SF

In a match which continued to show reasons for optimism that Marion is getting her game together on grass, she still nevertheless lost in straight sets due to missed opportunites to take the first set, and to break in the 2nd.

Marion said, "I had some big chances but didn't make them and that can happen sometimes but I'm happy again with my overall game and if I keep playing like I have this week there is no reason I can't do well again at Wimbledon."

The door was open for Marion to reach her first final since Wimbledon. But she has at least equalled her 2007 Eastbourne finish. It's going to be a mighty task for her to emulate last years Wimbledon finish. But in part, I do this blog  because I believe she can not only emulate last year, but exceed it, when the time comes.

On a side note, I am dissapointed that BBCi didnt resume coverage of the match against Radwanska following the rain delay, as the commenentator said it would. But at least Virginia Wade attempted to understand and compliment Marion's game within that match commentary itself. That's nice.

 By Richard Jago

Marion Bartoli, last year's Wimbledon runner-up, is approaching her moment of truth. In three days' time she will embark on a journey which will see her either lose such a sack-load of ranking points that she plunges into the darkness or alternatively conjure another double-handed collection of surprises.

It is an attractive but increasingly unlikely prospect during a season in which Bartoli has yet to win three successive matches, and which yesterday brought only her second semi-final in 11 months. This created some rare moments of optimism for the idiosyncratic woman whose won't-go-back style was developed in a local hall at Le-Puy-en-Velay in the Massif Central, where the run-back was so short that defence was unthinkable.

Her 6-3, 6-3 win over Alisa Kleybanova, yet another hungry young Russian, means that another Bartoli win at the International Championships today will earn her a place in a final for the first time since her homespun unorthodoxy halted the rampaging Jelena Jankovic and ended Justine Henin's chance of winning the only grand slam title to elude her.

Thereafter Bartoli mostly clung to a top-10 place but only just, not because she does not possess the talent - as she firmly keeps reminding people - but because of a dreadful list of fitness issues, especially with tendinitis in a wrist. If she ices it, monitors it and rests it, she can often play through discomfort. It makes for a fussy process and a longer day. When she awakes there is sometimes pain and when it is warm she is fine. Yesterday it was often surprisingly cold.

Has she found all this depressing? "It's life," she says. "It's how it is. I wish I could change the past but I can't. I will have to take it. I'm still trying to make my future better and brighter.

"When you start to feel a bit of injury somewhere you don't feel so confident. It can be difficult to play two or three matches in a row and it gets inside your head, so it's difficult to be as confident as I was. Last year I knew I could play for six hours. But this year my mind has been starting to compensate for the injury and [make me] use some different parts of my body, which could be why I have had injuries elsewhere. Everything is starting to be difficult. It means I can't play my best tennis."

These pressures intensified to a stage where last week, uncharacteristically and spectacularly, she completely lost her rag, flat-batting balls at high veolocity around the Edgbaston centre court but not into it, losing a second set to love against a little-known opponent in only a few minutes, and being fortunate not to be reprimanded for tanking the match.

In fact, Bartoli is a positive, attractive, trilingual character who yesterday dealt patiently with a horrid wind that twisted the ball annoyingly and threatened to sweep her long, unbraided hair around her neck like a boa.

She won well, but today she will need to raise her game another notch against Agnieszka Radwanska, a rising top-20 Pole who once won the Wimbledon junior title, and to receive a helpful draw at Wimbledon, where she is seeded No11.

"What is past is past. You can't say last year I did well so I will do well this year," Bartoli says. "I'll always have good memories of Wimbledon, always for sure. But now I have to go deep inside my soul and find a new gear.

"Last year I thought I might lose in the first round and I went all the way to the final. I am not expecting anything."

So she wisely says. But returning to the scene of such a startling success makes it rather difficult not to.

Opening service games held.

Flukey net for  40 15. Aga hold.

Df. Atoned by beautiful point won at net. Df #2. Oh what an angle crosscourt at net. Hold. 2-2.

Aga hold to love. But closely fought game. No baseline stuff here. Marion  coming into the net.

Wade quite complimentary towards Marions game.

Hold to love for Marion.

3BP for Marion.

Still swooshing between points I see! ! J

Deuce. Adv AR. Deuce 2. What a winner. BP . Long rally ends in deuce  3.

Marion concerned about the court surface.

RAIN DELAY. PLAY SUSPENDED  @  15:29  (3-3)

Court covers on 15:35

The draw for the 2008 Wimbledon Championship has just been made. Marion has drawn Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the 1^st Round.

Ranked 78 in the world, Lisicki knocked out French Open finalist Dinara Safina in the 1st round of the Australian Open in January. So Marion will need to beware the banana skin, and assert her grasscourt supremacy from the start in this debut meeting against the 18 year old.

Marion's section of the draw is pretty heavy compared to the lightweight draw handed to Ivanovic: Marion is in section 2 along with Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Amelie Mauresmo, all former grand slam champions.

It’s ill advised to fantasise about this the possibilities and permutations of what could happen or might happen several rounds into the tournament. Still, i’m sure a potential 3^rd round tie against Maria Kirilenko didnt escape blog regular JimM’s attention..
 
www.wimbledon.org 

(Photo AFP/Getty)
Marion preparing to spear the apple core. A world of fruitful promise on her fingertips.

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS OPEN / EASTBOURNE UK / GRASS / TII / QF

"When I arrived at Eastbourne from Birmingham I just felt so tired but one day in practice here all my energy seemed to come back and I was able to play really well again.

"I hit so many balls in that match that I got tendinitis in the ligaments of my wrist and it has taken until now to get better. I had a lot of other problems with my back, my Achilles as well, but suddenly I'm feeling really good again and I'm right back on track."

And..

I'm feeling like I did last year," said the delighted second seed. "I've suddenly been energised, I'm able to play my game. "I think I'm on the right way again." "It's always windy here, but it's the same for both, You just have to find a way to win.

"You won't play well anyway, but you find a way. I led 5-0 and she came back to 5-3, I had to keep fighting."

So Marion clobbers Kleybanova! So great to see her back on UK television again.

EDITED (2) 20:10 06/20/08

Clean opening service game to love.Paused before serve because of wind. Excellent break to love, Marion 2-0. AK scores flukey point net. Another let, gives Ak her 2nd point, but Marion holds convincingly. 3-0. Marion stepping inside the baseline again to recieve, just like lastyear .
Wrist strapped.
Df for AK. Simply beautiful return, for double break. 4-0.
Deuce. Held after 2nd deuce. Thos e powerful two handed returns are just beautiful. 5-0.
AK taking ages to serve due to wind.
AK gets on the screboard with a hold to 30.
DF, M .Break Point.. Broken. 5-1. AK into the match a bit more. Marion nervous?
Wind really strong.
Df #3 AK.
Bp and set point to Marion. Deuce. AK holds. 5-3.
Marion denied ace. Set point. MARION WINS FIRST SET  2^nd Set

AK seving. BP Marion. Lucky net chord to hold.

M coming into the net. 2 aces ina row! Marion quick hold. 1-1.

Hey I just noticed something super Marion isnt wearing a cap but a visor instead.  She’s still wearing the stylish Nike top. In navy blue this time..

AK Holds. 2-1. Marion on top of her every game.

AK  cant keep Marions balls in play.

Deuce. Df . deuce 2. Adv MB.  Marion hold. 2-2.

Those commentators are somewhat less than magnanimous towards Marion. Especially him.

BP to Marion.  Broken. Marion leads 2-3

“That’s a shame for Kleybanova because she lost it rather Bartoli winning it” he said...

It doesnt matter what Marion does they just cant seem to bring themselves to acknowledge her.  Clobber him with a baguette. Numpty.

Virginia Wade is a bit more even handed.

Deuce. Marion holds. 2-4.

“an awful drop shot” from Marion he said! Look mate. it is MARION who actually won the point! Didnt you see! Get the bins on. What a numpty that bloke is!!

DREADFUL LINE CALL! Ball was in Marion should be love 40,  Angel stared at it but didnt challenge the call.

 2 Break points to Marion. Both saved deuce. Holds.

Marion running down the balls well. Doesnt seem to be hyper-ventilating like last year.

This is another lovely service game. Ace. And another Ace! 5-3.

MATCH  POINT .... to love. Woohooo! Game set and match! YAAAAY!

She’s looking great! Galloped to victory again! Brilliant!  

Quick few words interview, Marion says

“I will try my best to win tommorrows match and why not win the tournament”

Ok bbl to update blog later tonight  gtg town now.

EDIT (1) 06/20/08

Eastbourne is live on BBC2 UK just now. First match of the day has just been completed. Marion's match gainst Kleybanova is 4th in OOP. Not before 4pm then for Marion.

BARTALLEZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!