Picture Marion Bartoli on court in your head. I’ll guess that 99 percent of you have an image of her facing away from the court, nervously replacing the strings of her racquet, bouncing up and down and from side to side, and taking practice thrusts and parries that would have put her fellow countrymen Portos, Athos, and Aramis to shame. (After all, Alexandre Dumas’ mythical Three Musketeers never managed to fight two-handed on forehand and backhand…)
Imagine the energy required to do that between every point. And then play the point with 100 percent intensity. Then imagine how much energy you would need to play 83 matches in a single season. That is what Bartoli did in 2011, setting a WTA record. She also achieved the unique (and quirky) feat of qualifying for the WTA Championships and the Commonwealth Bank Tour of Champions, the latter by dint of her tournament wins in Eastbourne and Osaka, the former thanks to her No.9 ranking, and an injury to Maria Sharapova.
2011 was when Bartoli returned, if not to the forefront of women’s tennis, then at least to the fringes thereof, reaching the semi-final at Roland Garros and the quarters at Wimbledon. On the French clay she bested Julia Goerges, Gisela Dulko, and 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then went on to beat Petra Kvitova in the final of Eastbourne, two weeks before the Czech won Wimbledon. And speaking of the hallowed lawns of SW19, she even beat Serena in her own grass-covered back yard.
Bartoli won seven matches in a row to conclude this epic year, but that run also included a withdrawal and a retirement–one due to a viral infection, the other mid-match in Bali when she sprained her ankle. Bad luck perhaps, but 83 matches in a season will surely take their toll, particularly on someone who expends so much nervous energy. That trait was never more apparent than when she famously ordered her father and coach Walter, out of the stands at Wimbledon during her third round match before going on to defeat Flavia Pennetta in a silent outburst (a contradiction in terms, I know, but that’s what it was), which made the highlight reels around the world.
Despite sending him off on an enforced strawberries-and-cream break between sets, Marion has always been utterly devoted to Walter, and that may well compromise what could be the best year of her career. The Olympic Games are being held at Wimbledon in 2012, but Bartoli will not be eligible to play, having failed to represent France at least twice in the year leading up to the Games. There is time yet – just – but unless she backs down on her refusal to play unless her father is allowed to carry on training her during Fed Cup ties, she will not be in the running for an Olympic medal, on a surface on which she has shone over the years.
There was talk earlier in 2011 of an agreement between Bartoli and the French Tennis Federation that Bartoli would declare herself eligible for the Fed Cup and captain Nicolas Escudé would “choose” not to pick her – but Escudé has dismissed this out of hand. What a shame for a player who, at 27, is playing the best tennis of her career, and finally a genuine contender at any tournament. For someone who thrives on playing, she is even starting 2012 early at the Hopman Cup alongside Richard Gasquet, and has always worn her heart on her sleeve. Missing out on the Olympics will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Drew Lilley will be writing for www.opengdfsuez.com from February 6 – 12, 2012 as well as various other tournaments throughout the year.
