Got a nice message a few days ago from the guy who made the video above, of Marion on a carriage and horses.

The video was made in Melbourne in January, the day following Marion's win over the World number 1 at the Australian Open.

In my previous entry I had written about how Marion talked in Melbourne about feeling tired and in a bad mood. Well, in this video, we see her alert, relaxed, and in a good mood.

This video is a nice lift for us all after the disappointment of Wimbledon, and maybe a wee nod to our Aussie regulars who support Marion.

Black and White horse and carriage. Black jewellery, white outfit. Very Marion.

Edited 22:27 02 July 2009
Just a small correction. It was a good friend of Glen Mackay rather than Glen himself who got in touch.

Reading through how the French media have reported Marion's exit, some are fairer than others.

L'Equipe's Sophie Dorgan for example, while not shying from the painful truth, quite fairly puts the emphasis on what Schiavone did right rather than what Marion did wrong.

'"Honestly, she was stronger than me today. I had no real solutions." Marion Bartoli is not looking for false excusues, Francesca Schiavone was better, and the score (7-6 [5], 6-0 in 1:29 ') reflects this third round match. When Schiavone plays well, she appears.. inexhaustible' wrote Dorgan.

'Marion Bartoli had no strength to fight, "Even if I had won the first set, it was very hard to maintain physically for a set. At 4-0 in the second set was really tough physically. It's disappointing to lose, but I can not say that I had the cards. She went to win the match."'  
Bartoli n'avait pas les armes (Francais)

Eurosport writers 'JC & SP' on the other hand are less sympathetic, In an article containing the sub heading, Chilling With Bartoli, (some witty retort per chance to my "chilled out storm" remark after round 2?).The unnamed writers begin by dove tailing Marion's fate with that of Virginie Razzano, and imply that Marion wasn't showing full commitment during the match. 

The article begins quoting Razzano,

"I'm really disappointed for Vera because she is a girl I like very much. She is very fair-play on the court and outside she is really nice. She is very respectful.. You can not read these compliments without thinking about what happened with Marion Bartoli. In the next round, expected course a Virginie Razzano reunion with the daughter of Walter Bartoli. Perhaps they also where. But yet it will not happen. Marion Bartoli dropped the first, while the second was already worrying about how to spend her time in London this weekend."'
Razzano-Bartoli rendevous manque (Francais)

As with myself, Dorgan was actually at the match, it is interesting that we are picking up on a noticeable drop in energy over the 2nd set.

In the run up to Roland Garros, Marion used the phrase, "a crescendo of energy", to describe her preparations and build up. The idea being that you tune your body, practicing, and training to peak at just the right time time when you need to perform at your best.

On Friday, Schiavone was on a roll, and the Bartoli crescendo was a little off rhythm.

It is completely unfair and irresponsible to suggest Marion was uninterested and only cared about having a nice weekend break in London. Marion is not that sort of girl. Walter is not that sort of coach or father. Both of them are completely conscientous, scrupulous, and hard working in everything they do. Yet perhaps for that very reason, the way "Marion Bartoli had no strength to fight", how should I put this, points to a paradox.

As far back as Melbourne, Marion wrote in her blog that she felt really tired sometimes after her training, and has repeatedly talked of feeling tired and being In a bad mood. I see Marion’s mood fluctuate significantly according to results.

However, It’s interesting that on this occasion after this exit at Wimbledon she composed her words with great clarity, honesty, and magnanimity in defeat. (Perhaps just as well really, cos if she had cried at the end of the Schiavone match that would have just set me off too.)

i'm just a devoted fan, and just worry about my favourite player.

Tomorrow is my last day here. So I may go down to Wimbledon to kill some time, and maybe take in the Razzano Schiavone match. Don’t worry, I won’t be tearing up the hotel bed sheet and making a banner from lipstick which says, SPECIAL GIRL... even though i’m tempted! But look out for the twitters.

For Marion the Razzano-L'Equipe matter is closed and she has moved on.

Post Match Press Conference Transcript

Q. How disappointed were you with your Wimbledon exit there?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, it's kind of disappointing, but she played really well today. I didn't have my chances. Sometimes you just have to exit and your opponent can be better than you.

I think it was the fact today was I had some chances. The first set I was leading 5‑3, but she was really keeping me, putting a lot of pressure. She was missing almost absolutely no balls. And she was ‑‑ I thought I was playing against a wall; the ball keeps coming back, keeps coming back, and it was really hard to make one winner.

Of course I'm disappointed because I lost, but I mean, it was really hard for me to find a way to win today.

Q. Do you think the set points in the first set had a big impact on the match itself and actually put it in her favor, or are you disappointed with the second set?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, of course if I had won the first set maybe it would be different. But you know, I felt like the grass is so slow. It's so hard to win one point from the baseline.

I was keeping hitting the ball, hitting the ball, hitting the ball, and the ball keeps coming back, keeps coming back. So when I was trying to come to the net, if my approach shot was not absolutely perfect, she was passing me all the time. So I had to come up with the perfect shot on each point, which is really difficult to do.

Again, of course, it's disappointing, but I think today she was just better than me.

Q. So you think there's actually a difference in terms of the grass to when you actually got the final here a couple years ago?

MARION BARTOLI: I think it gets really slower and slower honestly, especially during the first week. I mean, two years ago it was different. My third round I played against Shahar Peer, which is not really a grass specialist, so it was really a much better draw.

But the first week I know the grass is going to be slower than second week, but I really feel that it's really getting slower and slower.

Q. How do you pick yourself up from this defeat today?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, you know, I just have to go on during the season. I'm working hard, giving really the best chances to go on the court and compete at my best. I'm really outside of the court doing everything I need to do. If my opponents are better than me, then there is nothing I can do else. I can't work more and I can't do more than I'm doing right now.

www.wimbledon.org

2009 Wimbledon Championships Round 3

The Queue

Firstly, I apologise it's taken me so long to get this report up. Marion is required to be professional and go do interviews straight after a match, that must be hard sometimes.

Even though I reached the Queue earlier than on the previous two mornings, it took me 7 hours to gain entry to the grounds. Three to four hours more than usual. It surprised me as Andy Murray wasn't playing and the weather forecast wasn't good. It's hard to judge as ground capacity changes each day. It is fluid rather than fixed situation.

when the Steward announced ground capacity was full, and the queue was now in a 'one in one out' situation, things did not look good. For the first time in six matches this year and last, it looked like I would miss seeing Marion play. Roger Federer's match on centre court moving into a fourth set didn't help things.Becasue they let in more people once any spectators leave the show courts at the end of big match's. But somehow, I got in!

There was a bunch of guys, queue jumpers, posh boy types, all six of them of them who had jumped in front of me where sent to the back of the queue, my queue card number was about 8100, those guys were about number 8600. They had jumped about 500 places in the queue.

Then once in the grounds it helped that Vesnina and Cibulkova had went into a fourth set. If you have been following me on twitter you might have seen the live photo I sent from just outside one of the gates to the court, queueing to get in.

But anyway once again I made it just, firstly into the grounds, then into court 18. Unfortunately my photos of the match are not great because I was hemmed in right at the corner again behind the baseline. I draped the Marion Bartoli Fan Blog t-shirt over the wall, but not over the green fence, as I don't think that is permissable. The line judge grinned at me when he come over to switch sides.

The Match

As fans, I think a lot of us had great hopes and dreams for Wimbledon 2009. An optimism which was based on two things, firstly the simple fact that this is Wimbledon, this is where she has did so well in the past, this is a place she comes back to which makes her "smile".

Secondly, she has worked so hard over the past 12 months, running, training, practicing, altering technique. Yes Walter and Marion Bartoli have always worked hard and changed things. But this past 12 months it has been a more intensive and focused programme of work than ever before. She is a visibly different specimen, and she just seems to have that extra metre around court these days, and it has shown in the results she has had this past year compared with the previous 12 months from July 2007 to June 2008. What gave grounds for real optimism against Schiavone was that recently Marion had beaten the Italian and several other players which Marion had always lost to before.

But every new match is a new situation.

You know, in the first set there was nothing between these players, both players where producing some excellent and highly energetic tennis. First Schiavone went ahead, then Marion went ahead, then a tie break. Schiavone took her chances well and took the set.

Given that it was warmer for Marion than in the previous two rounds, it must be physically quite demanding to play as intense as that. But this is what she's trained for, that's why she has worked as hard as she has done over this past 12 months. She's a professional athlete.

A few things struck me about the play. There was a lot of high loopy balls, it was like Marion was hitting the ball cross court as hard and furious as she could, but each time the ball would come back and Marion was unable to generate enough pace from Schiavone's shots to win the point. Marion sometimes looked exposed in mid court.

But then on the other hand, Schiavone produced these impressive winners of her own. She played well.

Another random observation; there was quite a few line calls which went against Marion. One or two looked pretty suspect to me, and Marion did complain to the umpire once. But to be fair to the line judge I am in the seating area, he had a better vantage point than me, even with the evening sunshine in his eyes. 

On grass and hard courts Marion usually has deadly precision when it comes to hitting shots into the corner or right on the line. It's rare for her to be off-kilter. 

In the 2nd set, who can say what happened, some fissure opened. Schiavone sustained her high level of play, but Marion seemed to fade. Don't get me wrong, she never stopped fighting. I rememeber I think it was at 3-0 down, Marion produced an excellent winner  and I shouted the "THE FIGHT IS STILL ON".

But no. When your down, games can pass in a flash and before you know it the set is gone. And as the awkward hazy evening sunshine slipped by the tower block shadowing court 18, so did the match also. With a break to love as I recall, or to 15, it was all over.

Marion looked a little, unwell in the 2nd set, or stressed. she seemed to be hyper ventilating. But that's only my impression, and she didn't call for the trainer, so must have been feeling alright. Nevertheless a highly energetic first set performance from Marion seemed to become flaccid in the 2nd. 

Coach Bartoli, he was sitting facing opposite me, he just sat muttering to himself. And me, I was just a mess. But that aside I was muttering too.

The crowd, well the guy I have mentioned before, he was there sitting just a few seats along from Walter. As Marion was warming up, he gestured to me from accross the court, as if to say me and you are the only Marion fans here in a sea of Italians.

It wasn't quite as stark as that, but as expected Italian fans did out-number French/Marion fans quite considerably. However given the recent history of things i'm pleased to say that for the most part all were good humored and enjoying the match.. just wish the Italian guy next to me had stopped playing with his phone as Marion was serving at the end of the set. 

Grass is meant to be a fast surface. It's ironic that while waiting in the queue I was reading articles on changing court speed and bounce at grass court tournaments. Apparently grass courts have been re-engineered to create longer rallies, by using a different blade of grass.

But why? Sometimes I felt like I was watching a clay court match out there. Maybe the US Open offers the best shot for Marion to win a slam.

But you can forgive me for all the pre-tournament hype, I am a fan after all, and each year Wimbledon comes round the heart will hype it up again. 

It has been an exciting adventure, and a great privelige to see all three of Marion's matches again this year. Joy on Monday and Wednesday, disappoinment on Friday. But as Marion said last month, "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That is life."

Can you stay up for the weekend? Till next year.

2009 Wimbledon Championships
Friday June 26

Court 18

Schedule

12:00 Start
Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round
Daniela Hantuchova(SVK) v. Ai Sugiyama(JPN)

Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round
Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] v. Elena Vesnina(RUS)

Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round
Francesca Schiavone(ITA) v. Marion Bartoli(FRA)[12]

Schedule

Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round
Andreas Seppi(ITA) v. Igor Andreev(RUS)[29]

Marion's match should start somewhere between 3pm and 5pm UK time (barring unforseen circumstances such as a player retirement)

Either way the likelihood of Marion's match being switched again is very low. But the weather could be a factor tomorrow. Chance of some thundery downpours.

You may have noticed that something is missing this week, no match previews. Sorry, but i've temporarily suspended them as i'm just too pushed for time. Queue takes 4 hours. Travelling to and from Wimbledon takes one hour, each direction.

Visiting Wimbledon is a very British experience. The Queue may be an anachronism, or an inconvenience (if you get my drift), but when you come to SWI9 it is with a stoical even cheerful preparedness, you know what's in store.. and to be honest i'm quite glad for it. Because in the corporate freebie age, I imagine even ground tickets would otherwise become like gold dust and be too cost prohibitive for a wee Susan Boyle type person from Scotland... (ok.. maybe not.. but you get my point).

I haven't been to Wimbledon on the days when Marion is not playing, for various reason. Partly it gives me the chance to do the match report and edit the photos. Hopefully I can try get reports up on the blog on the evening of the match as normal from now on, instead of the morning after. (Had so little sleep that I fell asleep doing round 2's match report!

Feel free to give your thoughts on the match ahead.

Click the Marion Bartoli Fan Blog banner at the top of the page to go Home

2009 Wimbledon Championships Round 2

The area where I live has all the picture postcard charm you expect when you think of Scotland; the wilderness, the ever changing skies, the long sandy beach, the castle, and the funny little houses that embody all that is homely, stable, long term, and Olde.

Marion said that when she comes to Wimbledon she smiles, and I know I may get lynched by my fellow Scots for saying this, but is there really any other place to be on a midsummers day than out on Henman Hill, watching the tennis, while the city of London gently strokes catharsis on your left cheek? If Tendaberry is New York, Aorangi is London.

"It's crazy because at Wimbledon I do not panic, it's not like at Roland Garros," Marion said lastnight. J'concur.  

Lastnight  the chilled out storm did it again, the tornado which shattered the pleasant evening calm over at court 3. If you don?t believe me just ask tennis bell-weather Sophie Dorgan. On Monday evening French tennis journalist Dorgan forecast the imminent arrival of Tornado-Bartoli...

Timea Bacsinszky, a clearly gifted young tennis player from Switzerland, was simply captive to the irresistible force of the storm as it gathered pace. And oh what a beautiful tempest it is!

Yet for the bulk of the first set teenager Bacsinszky boldly held her own against her marquee opponent, she produced some lovely winners into the corner, and expert volleys.  She was serving well, and one wondered if it was really possible to sustain that level of tennis for the duration of a whole match.

It would be an exaggeration to say the storm was in the doldrums over the first seven games of the match, but being down 5-2 in a grand slam set of tennis demands not only ability to recover the situation, but professionalism, and above all fight.

An outward sign of that fight was a fist-pump after every good point, and some discreet fist shaking as she prepared to serve. It got the adrenalin going and contained just the right level of menace, throttle, and thrust.

When Anne Keothavong played Marion last year, she fist pumped her way to a three set defeat from 4-1 up in the final set. To which Matthew Cronin retorted wonderfully.. "it's not over until the last rebel yell." 

Then there's the legendary Ana Ivanovic fist pump, which in my eyes has a bit of the smiling extrovert about it, it's a cocky little number.. yet lacks the decisiveness of the Bartoli fist pump. The Bartoli fist pump has the last word, decisive, conclusive, end of.

(But of course that's my biased opinion) :)

Soon Marion's play was revolving in harmony with the piston fisting - more aggression, a few more take risks from 5-2 down, applying the pressure, see if her opponent would crack. She was stepping well inside the baseline not only on second serve, but on first serve too.

One of her super-early returns went straight into the net. Yet for every one step back, Marion took two steps forward.

There was one particularly moral boosting point at the end of the first set. Bacsinszky tried a short ball again thinking it would catch Marion off guard, but the new slim-line Bartoli express just raced to the ball and won the point.

This is only stage two of seven required to win a grand slam, but so far Marion has shown an impressive and exciting level of play; quality aggressive tennis and the will to win when down. She began with a 6-0 6-0 win in round 1, and by the end of round 2 a good player was out-hit, out-classed, and out of Wimbledon.

With Gisela Dulko eliminating Maria Sharapova today at Wimbledon, the same Argentine player Marion won handsomely over at Eastbourne, there is a weighty body of evidence to show that Marion is one of the substantial figures on grass.

Marion will play Francesca Schiavone in Friday's third round. Marion beat the Italian in Dubai in February. Fighting back to win in three sets despite illness.

Updated 1:00 Thu 25 June 2009