The Daily Forehand Talks to Marion Bartoli (Part 1)

CINCINNATI--By any measure, Marion Bartoli had a very successful week in Cincinnati. 

After straight set wins over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Alona Bondarenko, the 2007 Wimbledon finalist beat #2 seed Caroline Wozniacki in a lopsided 6-4, 6-1 third round match.  Though she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Maria Sharapova, it's still a week of which Bartoli should be quite proud.

After her win 7-6(4), 6-1 second round win over the elder Bondarenko sister, I got the chance to sit down with Marion for what turned into a fairly lengthy interview, covering a wide range of topics with varying levels of tennis-relatedness. the first part of which is below.

Marion, known as one of the biggest characters in the sport, walked into the interview room with the WTA escort animatedly discussing the woes of French soccer, so that seemed like a good topic to start off with.

TDF: Let's start with that, then.  What would you do to change French soccer?

Marion Bartoli: Oh my gosh, there are so many changes to do! I think they are on the right path, though, because they, first of all, changed the coach. They put Laurent Blanc, who was the winner of the World Cup in '98.  So I think we're on the right path.  We're going to see how it's going in the test matches.  We can only improve (laughs).  We're starting from so low now.

TDF: The World Cup was going on during Wimbledon this year--did you have time to watch?

Marion Bartoli: I was watching, I was crying! Because it was just so bad, the way they handled it. Not only the level, because I can understand, I'm a sportsperson, I can understand you have a bad day, or whatever, it's totally understandable.  But just the way they acted...

TDF: The way the players acted?

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, exactly.  The way the players acted on the field, they were not even running toward the ball.  When you see the , the other team they were at least trying.  They were not even trying.  And not wanting to practice, you can't act like that, especially when you are representing your country for the World Cup, it's only once every four years.  It's just not acceptable.

TDF: That's never been a problem for you in tennis, you've always seemed like a very hard worker.

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, well the thing is that I don't consider that an achievement.  I love what I'm doing, it's my passion, I just want to improve.  That's not a huge deal.  But I really don't understand how you can possibly give it up like they did.  They didn't even try to do something, even just run for the ball, they were walking.  It was a disaster, totally.

TDF: You played back-to-back days here in Cincinnati, and already have two wins under your belt.  Do you like playing back-to-back days? You and Alona Bondarenko both did.

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, well I'm not going to say that it was bad scheduling, because I won both of them.  Of course, today was the toughest conditions probably I ever played in. 

TDF: Hottest ever?

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, especially the humidity.  It's not even the heat, when you have dry heat it's fine.  But this humidity just makes it so much tougher.  And I was talking with other players, it was tough for everyone.  It was very much mental a mental battle, how hard and for how long I can push myself.  I made sure I can have this win so I can have a day off tomorrow.

TDF: You left the court after the first set, was that just for the heat?

Marion Bartoli: Yeah

TDF: Because [Alona Bondarenko] didn't leave the court, which surprised me.

Marion Bartoli: I know, but then I won the second set 6-1, so maybe she didn't make the right decision.  That's what the physios asked us to do, try to leave, try to stay in the shade, try to drink as much as possible.  I think it was just the right move to get out of the court and get cool, and come back in the second set.

TDF: One thing that she did that you did not do was bring her coach on court.  What's your thought on on-court coaching? Do you think it's helpful, or do you think it should be taken away?

Marion Bartoli: Well I think it's helpful, but of course it depends on the player.  Some players don't really like to listen to anything during the match, they just want to figure it out by themselves, which is totally fine with me.  I think when she called for her coach she was more screaming at him than listening to what he said, so maybe that was not the right decision (laughs).  When my coach is coming on court, he helps me to figure out some stuff that I can't see.  But otherwise, if I'm feeling comfortable with my patterns of play, or if I feel I am doing the right things, then I don't need to call for my coach.

TDF: I saw that when you won points, you were fistpumping and looking in your coach's direction.  How important is it to have him there, and what would it be like if he was not there for one of your matches?

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, well, I lost two difficult matches in Stanford and San Diego.  I was in a winning position, and just let it slip away.  I really wanted this time to make sure that I carried on the same mentality from the first to the last point, which was really important.  Maybe I did more fistpumps than usual, but it was really important for me to stay mentally strong, because I let slip three match points in San Diego last week, which was really heartbreaking.  I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again.

TDF: I also noticed that with your fistpumps, you switched from saying "Allez!" to "Come on!"...

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, I know! I'm speaking so much English that sometimes I'm dreaming in English, even, during the night.  It comes naturally, so I'm not even thinking about what I'm going to say.  It just comes (snaps) like that (laughs).

TDF: On the court next to you, while you were playing...

Marion Bartoli: Kateryna Bondarenko was playing [against Maria Kirilenko], and she was losing as well. 

TDF: Did you notice that during the match?

Marion Bartoli: Yes (laughs).

TDF: Do you think Alona noticed that?

Marion Bartoli: I don't know if she noticed it, but I kept hearing the score. 

TDF: I kept hearing them say "Game Kirilenko" over and over, and I was wondering if that could have helped you, maybe. 

Marion Bartoli: Um, I don't know if it helped me, but I was aware of what was going on on Court 4.  But yeah, I was aware that her sister was losing.  Maybe also she didn't feel comfortable against me (laughs).  But I thought I played really well, especially in the second set.  I served huge, and I made sure that in return games I was putting a lot of pressure on her. 

TDF: I notice that you're wearing now the same light blue color that you wear a lot when you play tennis.  Is that your favorite, or signature color?

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, I love blue, but the main color is green on my outfit here, and there is just a little bit of blue on it.

TDF: It seems like you always try to include some blue, even at Wimbledon you wear blue wristbands or something.

Marion Bartoli: Yeah, I'm from the sea, so I love blue (laughs).  Being from around the sea, it reminds me of my home. 

Part 2 of my interview with Marion should be published sometime before her next match, whenever that happens.