Friday, 5 July 2013
Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli send for aggression for exciting finishing
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Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli send
for aggression for exciting finishing
When
Marion Bartoli and Sabine Lisicki walk out on Centre Court for the 127th
women's final at Wimbledon,
the crowd will make it entirely clear who they want to win. Lisicki, the
23-year-old they call "Boom Boom" in Germany, has captured the
public's mind with her big serve, her even superior smile and the victories
snatched from the jaws of defeat. The favourite with both pundits and punters,
the support for her is likely to be as loud as it was in her epic semi-final
against Agniezska Radwanska. Bartoli may face two foes: one across the net and
the other in the stands.
Yet Bartoli, the French No1, has not lost a set on her mode to
her following final at SW19 and the 28-year-old is not bothered about in
performance the role of party pooper. "Well, I don't think I will have the
whole crowd against me," she said. "At the end of the day, she's not
British, as far as I know." Not much has got past her over the past
fortnight.
It was a line that was delivered with a laugh and there were
plenty of those from an engaging, thoughtful and often eccentric player.
Reminded about how she gushed about Pierce Brosnan, her favourite actor, after
she spotted him watching one of her matches when she reached the final in 2007,
she giggled and said she wouldn't mind easily spread a glimpse of Ryan Gosling
this time, while she said she might have a nap in the hours before the match,
just as she did before her one-sided semi-final alongside Kirsten Flipkens on
Thursday.
Bartoli, an unorthodox talent
who hits her groundstrokes with two hands off both sides and practises her
shots between points, was beaten in straight sets by Venus Williams six years
ago and it remains her only appearance in the final of a grand slam. An
occasionally difficult relationship with her father, Walter, who was her coach
for much of her career, has not helped. Although he will be in her box on
Saturday afternoon, they have now split and she has benefited from the guidance
of the French Tennis Federation, the former Wimbledon
champion and Fed Cup captain, Amélie Mauresmo, and her new hitting partner,
Thomas Drouet. She has experienced dark moments but, for now, it is all
sunshine and roses.
"Well, there is something off the court, and it's pretty
much private," Bartoli, the 15th seed, said. "But, you know, it kind
of affects me on my mood and my results because it was some tough things to
deal with. But, again, I believe that what does not kill you makes you stronger.
Now I'm just so happy again and so smiley. I'm having a great time off the
court. I'm having an awesome time on the court. Everything is perfect again.
"I had some very low moments when I felt I pretty much hit
rock bottom. But I kept my head up and I just wanted to win some matches again
and have some good memories on court again. That's what drove me every single
day to go on court, practise hard and try to improve on my game and my physical
shape as well."
This is a final few predicted and the first since 1998 featuring
two players not to have won a grand slam. It will be a battle of aggression –
and of emotions, too. For all the admirers Lisicki has gained, there have been
suggestions that she is less popular with her fellow players, something that
was hinted at by Radwanska's frostiness at the net after their semi-final. The
talk is that she puts on a show for the cameras. "Well, that's just
myself," Lisicki said. "I enjoy myself out there. Why shouldn't
I show it? I'm an emotional person. It helps me to stay relaxed, enjoy the game
and play my best tennis."
Her best was too hot for Serena Williams to handle in the fourth
round and it may be too much for Bartoli. Lisicki, the first German to reach
the final since Steffi Graf lost to Lindsay Davenport in 1999, won their
quarter-final two years ago and holds a 3-1 winning record over Bartoli, who
will have to return the German's bullets with her own fire and also draw on her
knowledge of the final in 2007. Lisicki, who has hit 39 aces to Bartoli's 12
and whose serves can reach a dizzying 122mph, has never been in this situation
before and although she will be widely expected to win there were times in her
match against Radwanska when she was hacking like a square player.
"It's hard to say before the match if it's an advantage or
not," Bartoli said. "I'm feeling less stress than I was for my first
final, for sure. But Sabine has played some amazing tennis so far. She might be
too good for me. I think having the advantage of in concert a final already
will help me dealing with my nerves.
"We both hit the ball pretty hard, pretty flat. Sabine is
definitely serving faster than me, mainly on the first serve. I might take the
ball a bit earlier. But obviously we both have the same thing, playing fairly
flat and from the baseline and trying to hit some winners. But then of course I
have to deal with her level of diversion." And no one has set up a way to
do that thus far
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