Photo courtesy of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Bank Of The West Classic
Stanford, CA. USA
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Premier $700,000
FINAL M. Bartoli bt V. Williams 6-2 5-7 6-4
“You have to believe in your dreams. You must always try your best in everything you are doing, no matter what it is. If you do you can get to the top of the world and achieve your goals.” Marion Bartoli, July 2007, Stanford
Marion Bartoli Stanford Champion 2009
After the heartbreak of coming runner up in last year’s Stanford final, Marion has turned the tables this year and achieved a landmark win over Venus Williams to lift the biggest title of her career so far.
Playing with the same tactical intelligence which has been a hallmark of her success throughout this tournament, the French Number 1 and world number 14 combined brain-tennis with powerful penetrating shot making, excellent athleticism around court, and perhaps most importantly of all, courage and nerve to see the match through until the very last point.
Whenever a lady steps on court to face one of the mighty Williams sisters, you know that the match is never over until the very final point, regardless of the lead a player may possess against the twin colossi; Venus and Serena.
For Marion to overcome a great champion like Venus in the American's own home State, not only eases the pain of losing the 2007 Wimbledon Final, but more importantly is a comment on Marion's level of play in the here and now. Not only has she beaten a multiple grand slam champion in Venus Williams, but also the recently deposed world number 1 Jelena Jankovic, and three other fine tennis players.. all in the space of 6 days! Pretty special.
While Venus looked a little out of sorts today, with copious double faults and unforced errors, Marion showed great defensive skills, took charge of the Williams second serve, troubled Venus with down the middle shots, and played in such a way that backed her opponent into a intellectual corner - how does one deal with a problem like Marion?
Venus showed her renowned fighting qualities to level the match at one set all and set up an exciting finish, but Marion always looked in the ascendancy, in control, and was deserved winner in the end.
Marion's serve also became more solid and consistent as the tournament progressed.
Walter - Getting The Best From His Player
Another important component of today's victory is the attentive role Walter Bartoli played as coach. The success enjoyed by Marion Bartoli is very much a co-dependent effort. It is another vindication of a man who has come in for no small measure of scepticism over the years for his "unusual" and innovative methods. A recreational chess player, his tactical guidance secured a big win for the little guys of the tour.
Perhaps Walter was calling Marion's bluff when, “He told me before the week there’s no way I would make the final,” she said. “Today he said the only goal was to avoid losing 6-0, 6-1.“
Funny isn't it, that last bit is the same thing he told her just before that Wimbledon semi final against Justine Henin two years ago.
"What makes me special is that I’m really mentally tough.” She told ESPN yesterday. Tough challenges only serve to incentivize Marion, "Everyone was telling me it was better if I just come back to school and my studies and not do sports, because I was just not at the level. But that just gave me the challenge. I said, okay, everything at school is coming very easily, and maybe it was too easy for me. I like to go for more challenging stuff, so I said, you think I can't do it, I'm going to show you that I can." she told a German tournament in April. Article here
Yes She Can
Marion Bartoli Fan Blog has always remained positive, confident and convinced about Marion's chances, especially over the US hard court season. Some, recognising the fine run Marion put together in Stanford last year, and also finishing as the 2008 US Open Series runner up, thought that simply stemming the loss of points was a suitably realistic goal for Marion to pursue this hard court season. But Marion Bartoli is a character with an aspirational outlook, not a little guy at all, but a big girl with a big guy mentality, and on this occasion her commitment has been rewarded and her aspiration paid off... she leaves Stanford with a points GAIN, oh and nice trophy too. :)
Support
Enthusiastic Bartoli fans have recognised the immense amount of effort Marion and her father/coach Walter have injected over the past 12 months to get this marvellous tennis-enigma in such great shape, and so gain a competitive edge. Those who watched that match today, will have seen the fruit of Bartoli labors, will have seen that competitive edge in action.
Matthew Cronin, a tennis writer who executes a cool, feigned-disinterested style of writing, and who's enjoyed the rare privilege of seeing a Marion Bartoli artwork (lucky scamp!), wrote lastnight that Marion would have to "zone" to win this one. Yet the concept of being in the zone isn't one Marion really warms to. You see, win or loss, she is always in the zone, or what French journalist Eric Frosio described as a "bubble", the Bartoli bubble. Just look at the intensity in her eyes as she sets up for a backhand, or look at her biting grimace as she hits a ferocious two handed forehand, or hang around the practice court the next time she's in town, and see the physical passion which she shows during her training drills. The sheer awesome focus on court could pass for an altered state of consciousness.
Lastly, two years ago this week Marion Bartoli Fan Blog began, so how great it is to round the week off with a career best win. Raise you glasses to Marion Bartoli's continued success, it is a great day! ..Or wee small hours over here! ;)
Congratulations to Marion and Walter Bartoli.
Photo courtesy of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
After match comments from victor and vanquished
Marion - “I was pretty confident going into the final because I had four good wins this week, especially in the last two matches against Jelena (Jankovic) and Samantha (Stosur). Jelena is in the top 10 and Samantha is maybe a future top 10, so it was already good mentally for me to be in the final and have beaten those types of players.”
Venus - "Marion played really well," Williams said. "I couldn't find my game. I was fighting myself a lot and I couldn't find the court. I'm not used to that. “She strokes the ball well from the ground. She definitely executes her game well, at least today. I think today was definitely one of the best games that I’ve seen her play.” "There were glimpses of my game out there, when I was able to get control," Williams said. "Unfortunately I would follow that up with some errors."
Marion - "It would be zero degrees outside and we'd sweep off the snow just to practice," said Bartoli, who earned $107,000 for the win. "People would say I wouldn't be any good at tennis if I let my dad [Dr. Walter Bartoli] coach me. That was about the time Venus was just starting out and coached by her dad. She went to No. 1. That helped me develop mental toughness." "
I'm more experienced since that Wimbledon final," Bartoli said. "I've grown a lot and know what to do on big points. I've improved my movement a lot. I can run a lot and I wanted to make Venus play one extra shot on every point."
New Ranking - One more bit of good news, Marion has risen two places to world number 12 in the latest issue of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles rankings. :.
Slide - New large scale image of Marion with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, courtesy of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Video - Highlights of the Stanford Final from TennisTV: Super Marion Conquers Venus!
Match Stats
| Player | Marion Bartoli FRA | Venus Williams USA |
| Aces | 1 | 8 |
| Double Faults | 5 | 12 |
| 1st Serve % | 59% | 63% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 65% | 62% |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 53% | 35% |
| Break Points Saved | 8/12 | 8/14 |
| Service Games Played | 15 | 15 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 38% | 35% |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won | 65% | 48% |
| Break Points Won | 6/14 | 4/12 |
| Return Games Played | 15 | 15 |
| Total Service Points Won | 60% | 52% |
| Total Return Points Won | 48% | 40% |
| Total Points Win | 53% | 47% |
| Duration | 2hr 43mins 04secs | |
| Fan Blogger Moodset | Happy and Chilled :. | |
Additional after match comments added 5 Aug 2009
She did it. It's so good. She has deserved this win so much. SuperM, it's a motorway to heaven.