Bartoli Bounces Back

I didn't think Marion Bartoli had much of a chance of beating Samantha Stosur in the semifinals of Stanford.  I didn't think so after the first set, which Bartoli won 6-3, and I certainly didn't think so after the second set, which Stosur took convincingly, 6-1.

But there Bartoli was, breaking Stosur three times in the final set to win the match 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

Marion Bartoli has such a unorthodox, hit-or-miss game that I have a tough time putting a lot of faith in her tennis.  But her wins over Jelena Jankovic and Samantha Stosur this week were both impressive, especially this most recent win over Stosur, who had just looked incredibly sharp in defeating Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Bartoli's two-handed play and early ball striking helped her generate some incredible angles against Stosur, including some short, low balls out wide that challenged the Aussie's questionable movement.  Stosur's back injury played a role in how lopsided the final set was, to be sure, but even more important was Stosur's visible lack of confidence in her game as her forehand broke down.  Bartoli makes things incredibly uncomfortable for her opponent most every match, and this win was a direct result of that.

In a rematch of the 2007 Wimbledon Final, do I think Bartoli has any chance of testing Venus Williams, who beat Elena Dementieva, the #4 player in the world 6-0, 6-1 in her semifinal? Absolutely not.

But it might be more interesting than expected.