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Marion Bartoli powered her way past a hapless Sabine Lisciki to win her first ever Grand Slam.
Bartoli tore apart her opponent as she sprinted to 6-1 6-4 victory in just an hour and 21 minutes. Bartoli became the first ever Frenchwoman to win Wimbledon since her mentor Amelie Mauresmo, who was watching the game from Bartoli’s box at Centre Court.
Lisciki broke Bartoli in the very first game of the match but the Frenchwoman broke back immediately. Bartoli went to work on Lisciki’s serve as she worked out the 23-ranked German’s strategy in the first set by keeping the ball away from her booming forehand.
Bartoli, who did not drop a single set in the whole tournament, blasted her dazed opponent as she reeled off five games in a row to take the first set 6-1 in just 30 minutes. Lisicki’s service was laid bare as she double faulted on numerous occasions throughout the set.
The second set started off in the very same manner with Bartoli racing away to a 5-1 lead as Lisicki burst into tears after she double faulted yet again to allow Bartoli a break point with the scoreline looming against her at 4-1. With Baroli serving for the match, she pulled of a last-minute fightback pulling off three games in a row to bring the set back to 5-4. However, Bartoli then served out the match, stamping out the German by winning the match with a resounding ace.
Bartoli reached the Wimbledon final in 2007 and this was her 47th attempt at a Grand Slam event.
By winning her first title after 47 attempts, she also gained the dubious record for the most number of attempts to win a Grand Slam, beating the previous record held by Czech player, Jana Novotna, who won at SW19 in her 45th grand slam appearance in 1999.
She had a few comforting words for her opponent though when she said: “I missed out in 2007, I know what it is like and I’m sure Sabine will be here one more time, no doubt about it”
