The women’s winner for Wimbledon 2013 , Marion Bartoli, is truly on the rise with her first Grand Slam title. Her victory may be the crowning touch on a Wimbledon capped with wild accidents and crazy upsets.
Bartoli, who is French, easily crushed her German opponent Sabine Lisicki in a 6-1, 6-4 win that finished the tournament almost before it started.
As I reported yesterday , many observers picked Lisicki — who had eliminated world No. 1 Serena Williams from the tournament — as the favorite in the Wimbledon finals.
However, there were a couple of hints that the match could go the other way. Lisicki’s performances were somewhat erratic. In her matches against Williams and again against her semi-final opponent Agnieszka Radwanska, she was forced to make some amazing rallies to get to the finals.
By contrast, Marion Bartoli completely dominated Kirsten Flipkens in the semi-finals, crushing her 6-1, 6-2 in 62 minutes.
It was Lisicki’s first finals at Wimbledon and Bartoli’s second. And Lisicki appeared to suffer from a sudden loss of nerve.
A disgusted commentator from The Guardian said:
“This could have been a fantastic final but Lisicki is so hesitant and so tight. It’s hard to remember a worse performance in a final, especially as she was the hot favorite.”
Sports Illustrated wasn’t much happier. They called Lisicki “anemic” and said that she wept afterward.
“I think I was just overwhelmed by this whole situation,” Lisicki said.
And some fans were a little bitter about their favorite’s poor showing against rising powerhouse Marion Bartoli:
My love for #Wimbledon2013 died the moment Bartoli beat Sabine Lisicki…screw the men’s final tomorrow and Andy Murray #WeAllLoveSabine
— Geoff Dragon (@TheDragon_1991) July 6, 2013
But Bartoli’s fans were jubilant.
Ace for #Bartoli . She is the 2013 #Wimbledon Champion 6-1 6-4 v #Lisicki . She climbs into the stands to her family. pic.twitter.com/XiPkIROFDj
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2013
Congratulations to Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon’s women champion.
