Wimbledon 2013: Talking points from Ladies final day

Marion Bartoli of France walks forward to receive the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent after her victory in the Ladies’ Singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on July 6, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Bartoli wins in style

She may not be the most glamorous, she may not be the most powerful and she may not have the biggest fan base but Marion Bartoli can certainly play a good game of tennis.

In a tournament of countless shocks and under-performers, Bartoli has risen over the parapet and put in the performances when it mattered. Her unique style and mannerisms were key to her blotting out all the drama and distractions of a Wimbledon final.

In her own little zone throughout almost the entire match, Bartoli played her best tennis of the tournament and that is what you need to do at this stage in her career.

Her game plan was solid and pulled it off to a tee. Keep her serve as flat as possible to prevent Lisicki from gaining any rhythm on her sort and move around the less mobile German as much as possible to stop her having time to fire bombs down the other end of the court.

It was the defining moment in the likable Frenchwoman’s career. Can she do it again? Well if the big names survive the first week next time, it will be tough. Her power and movement aren’t at the same level of a Maria Sharapova or a healthy Victoria Azarenka but her determination is certainly a key asset for her.

She’s moved up to the top eight in the world and that should mean she’ll be able to reach the quarterfinals at least and with all the top names that have fallen in this tournament anything is possible.

Sabine Lisicki of Germany cries during a post-match interview on Centre Court after her Ladies’ Singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on July 6, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Lisicki’s emotions get the better of her

For all the credit I’ve given Bartoli for her dominant win yesterday, the bigger story of the match was the almost total capitulation of Sabine Lisicki. The big favourite going into the final, Lisicki’s game warranted that title but her play in the final is the reason she isn’t a top 10 player.

Error after error after error; it was almost painful to watch a player we all know can play such good tennis fall to pieces in front of the glaring eyes of the world when it really mattered the most. But in fairness, to be a top class tennis player, you have to be able to control your emotions when the situation demands it.

The image of Lisicki beginning to wipe away tears from her eyes after Bartoli broke another of her fragile service games was sad, but from a purely objective point of view that is a criminal act for a tennis player to commit. Not only does that give a massive boost to your opponent in the match but it also signals to the rest of the locker room that if you put this girl under pressure, she will most likely crack.

I’ve touched on Lisicki’s frailties throughout this fortnight but credit to her she’s always proved me wrong, up until now. Can she go one step further in the future and actually win that glorious trophy? Well she’s played her best tennis a lot more consistently than she previously has in the past three years.

But I still feel that when the chips are down and the pressure is really on her than she’ll crack. Like most girls who have very powerful games like Petra Kvitova or Laura Robson, if she is not at the races it is very unpleasant on the eye to watch ball after ball go long, who skew into the tramlines.

Give someone like Agnieszka Radwanska credit. She may not hit as many winners but at least she gets the ball in play. Sharapova has shown in the past what a strong mind can do to a woman’s game. She never gave up after her debilitating shoulder injury and after years of graft, she returned to the summit of women’s tennis.

Lisicki must learn the importance of this and she must master her emotions as quickly as possible if wants to forget about the worst day of her professional career. If she can do that than I’m sure she has the game to win a Wimbledon title. But that’s a big IF.

Marion Bartoli of France poses with the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy next to Sabine Lisicki of Germany and her runner-up trophy after their Ladies’ Singles final of the WimbledonChampionships at the All England Club on July 6, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Was this the worst women’s Wimbledon of the century?

It’s certainly a very contentious statement to make. How can a tournament with so many twists and turns be considered the worst over 13 years! And granted I’ve only really invested in watching in the last seven years but I like to judge a tournament’s prestige on how good the matches are in the second week.

But when a semi-final line-up consists of Bartoli, Lisicki, Kristen Flipkens and Radwanska and is missing the big names of Williams, Azarenka and Sharapova and other names such as Kvitova underperformed, it doesn’t exactly whet your appetite.

The Lisicki vs. Radwanska match aside, the matches involving Bartoli were utter blowouts to watch as a spectacle. And that is not a criticism of Bartoli. She played very well while her opponents completely bombed.

Even though the early round upsets of the big names mentioned is great to build interest in a sometimes dead first week, it backfires badly some the crunch time of a tournament. You want either the best names playing their best tennis or the unpredictability of a match like Azarenka vs. Williams for example.

And in terms of actual name value to the final, a Williams has contested the final of 11 of the 13 other finals aside from yesterday and the other two featured Sharapova, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo and Kvitova – all great names. It might be a disservice but Bartoli and Lisicki just doesn’t thrill me.

I’ve been pretty scathing on this tournament so far but to be fair there have been some good matches involving Radwanska against Li Na and Lisicki, and of course Lisicki’s upset against Williams was at times brilliant to watch.

Flipkens’ Cinderella story was also heart-warming to behold and Bartoli’s victory was a victory for outstanding personalities triumphing. And the sheer unpredictability of this tournament has also been a refreshing break from the Serena monopoly we all predicted at the start of the tournament.

But at the crunch time of the tournament, the lack of great tennis matches – not star names – cost this tournament dearly at the end. I’m sure I’m being a bit too reactive at this stage but at this stage Wimbledon 2013 has left me a little empty.