THE BLISTERING LONDON heat was a factor and Marion Bartoli was peppering the lines with winners but Sabine Lisicki’s meltdown was all her own doing. A brief fightback in the second set was not enough to prevent a 6-1 6-4 win for the No.15 seed.
The German imploded on the biggest day of her career to lose to the higher-ranked Frenchwoman. A string of unforced errors from Lisicki, couple with the unrelenting style of Baroli’s play, littered the match.
The first set was history after 30 minutes, with the 28-year-old Frenchwoman 6-1 winner and coasting. She gained an early break and Lisicki dug herself deeper by chasing the tie with wild forehand efforts.
As the wheels came off on Centre Court, Lisicki was visibly upset, gesticulating to her coach and family in the supporters box.
Lisicki was overwhelmed by her final appearance. (John Walton/PA Wire)
The German looked to be on the verge of a humiliating loss but composed herself to make a fist of the encounter. 1-5 and 12-30 down, she rallied to get out of the game and force Bartoli to serve again. She took the next game too to make it and served out the next game, making it 4-5. It gave her opponent a long changeover to worry about her title hopes.
Bartoli, however, found three big shots – one scrambled the others impressive – to give herself three match points. She only needed one:
Credit: TheScore.com
Speaking after the trophy presentations, Bartoli told the BBC, “When I started out this championship, on Court 14, I think if you told me I’d be here now, I would not have believed you.”
Addressing Lisicki, she added, “I was here [in the Wimbledon final] in 2007 and I missed it. I’m sure you will be there again.”
The German admitted, “I think I was overwhelmed by the whole situation but credit to Marion. She has been here before and she handled it so well. I hope I get the chance one more time as well.”
She thanked the Centre Court crowd for helping her to overcome her nerves in the second said. “I got it back,” she added, “but Marion was too good for me.” The 23-year-old had to compose herself again as she told her coaching staff and family that she would strive to get back to a second Grand Slam Final.
