“My dad told me, ‘You beat Justine in the semifinals of Wimbledon. You were able to do it. It’s the same thing today.’ I told him, ‘It’s a bit more difficult today.’ Mentally, it was as difficult as Justine, but I think physically today was a lot more difficult, because the level was a lot tougher and we played some tough points over three sets.”


“Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better”

The players traded three consecutive breaks in the first set, before Bartoli gritted her teeth and held in her two tough fought final service games, saving three break points and earning another break to win the set 6-2.

Bartoli nabbed her fourth break of Williams’ serve early in the second set, and the crowd began to murmur that it might well be a quick match with an unexpected outcome. But leading 4-2, 30-15, Bartoli set up a forehand down the line into an open court… and missed it wide. Rather than setting up two break points for 5-2, that error allowed Venus to hang around just long enough to later mount a comeback, and take the set 7-5.


“The Actress Hasn’t Learned Her Lines Yet?”

Bartoli challenged two serves called aces by Williams in the second set, both incorrectly. Venus followed up with two more aces in the same game, including a vicious body serve that forced Bartoli to duck out of the way instead of swinging at the ball.

After coming back from 3-5 down to take the second set, Venus hit three unforced errors and a double fault to drop serve at love in the opening game of the third set.c



“This Is the Moment”

Bartoli fell behind 0-30 while serving for the match in the third set, but then hit two winners and two unreturned serves. “I said to myself, ‘The only way to win this is to take the charge. I really need to come up with some winners,” recalled Bartoli. “But even if I [had] lost this match, it was the best effort I ever gave on a tennis court. I would be proud of myself. I really gave absolutely everything I had today.”

“Marion played really well today,” commented Williams. “I have to give her credit for playing really well. The last time I played her [in the 2007 Wimbledon final], I played a little better [laughs]. Last time, I think she played really well, too. I haven’t seen her play very often. This was one of her best days that I’ve ever seen her play.”


A Big Premier

Bartoli captures her first Premier-level title on the WTA Tour, including Premier’s predecessor Tier I tournaments. She also takes the early lead in the 2009 US Open Series. This victory marked the ninth time she has beaten a Top 10 player in her career.


Not Exactly a “Break A Leg” Speech

Bartoli was undaunted by an impressive field of players this week. “My dad said there was no way I’ll be in the finals again,” she commented. “Every time he says that, it really motivates me. I guess that’s why I won.”

“Before the match [my dad] told me, ‘The only thing today is not to lose 6-0, 6-1. OK, our flight is at 6:30, the final is at 12:00. The final should be done around 1:00, 1:15 [laughs], so we should be able to catch our flight tonight.’”



“You Got Big Dreams? You Want Fame?”

While reverse psychology may have motivated Bartoli this week, Debbie Allen’s speech from “Fame” might have worked, too.

“I think [my mental toughness] comes from the village where I grew up” said the Champion. “I always have been very ambitious. My dad is not ambitious for me. I remember when I was four or five years old, I was saying to my dad, ‘One day, I want to be the Prime Minister of France.’ I remember telling myself, ‘I don’t want to stay in this village. I want to go to the bigger city; I want to see the world.’ I remember seeing my dad work 18 hours a day and I wanted to take him out of this.”


Adoring Fans

The final match set a brand-new attendance record of 3,852, just beating out Friday night’s quarterfinal between Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova.


More photos from the 2009 Bank of the West Classic Tennis Tournament.
Photos: Scott Minor