Monday 27 June 2011

Serena Stunned by Bartoli at Wimbledon


Marion Bartoli emphatically ended Serena Williams' reign at Wimbledon with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the defending champion.

Looking to take home the women's title for a third straight year, Williams was well below-par as she tumbled out in straight sets.

Having had less than three weeks of action during the year due to injury and serious illness, it was always a big ask for the American to retain her crown.

However few expected her to fall to Bartoli, who will now face German Sabine Lisici for a place in the semi-finals, on Court One on the second Monday of this year's Championship.

The Frenchwoman finally registered victory at the fifth time of asking having earlier blown the same number of opportunities to take the opening set.

Williams battled bravely throughout but her accuracy deserted her as she scooped a series of shots out of play, meaning for only the third time the defending champion has failed to make the quarter-finals in the open era.

It was one of a number of poorly-timed shots by the seventh seed that gave her opponent the opening break of serve in the sixth game of the first set.

Bartoli took the next game without conceding and although she found it tougher to hold her serve in an epic ninth game, saving three break points herself, two aces helped her clinch an absorbing first set.

An early break at the start of the second then seemed to suggest the ninth seed would cruise through to the quarter-finals at SW19.

Williams, though, refused to go down without a fight. She produced a pair of fine returns to dismiss Bartoli's first two match points and then somehow staved off another before getting the chance to claim the break back.

A stunning return put the set back on serve again and it would eventually take a tie-break to settle it.

Bartoli won a thrilling rally to secure her fourth match point, but the indomitable Williams struck an ace to counter. But, hitting the net on the next point, she was in trouble again and Bartoli seized her chance to seal a famous victory.


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