Marion Bartoli
 |
| Country |
 France |
| Residence |
Geneva, Switzerland |
| Born |
(1984-10-02) 2 October 1984 (age 27)
Le Puy-en-Velay, France |
| Height |
1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight |
63kg [1] |
| Turned pro |
February 2000 |
| Plays |
Right-handed (two-handed both sides) born left-handed |
| Career prize money |
$7,145,016 |
| Singles |
| Career record |
446–270 |
| Career titles |
7 WTA, 6 ITF |
| Highest ranking |
No. 7 (January 30, 2012) |
| Current ranking |
No. 8 (May 21, 2012) |
| Grand Slam Singles results |
| Australian Open |
QF (2009) |
| French Open |
SF (2011) |
| Wimbledon |
F (2007) |
| US Open |
4R (2007, 2008) |
| Other tournaments |
| Championships |
RR (2007, 2011) |
| Doubles |
| Career record |
117–82 |
| Career titles |
3 WTA, 1 ITF titles |
| Highest ranking |
No. 15 (July 5, 2004) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results |
| Australian Open |
3R (2004, 2005) |
| French Open |
3R (2005, 2006) |
| Wimbledon |
QF (2004) |
| US Open |
SF (2003) |
| Last updated on: March 7, 2012. |
Marion Bartoli (born 2 October 1984) is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles.[2] She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.
Bartoli has defeated three reigning world no. 1 players in her career so far. She defeated Justine Henin in the semifinal of the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, Jelena Janković in the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open, 6–1, 6–4 and Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–3 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open. She has also recorded wins over other top players such as Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanović, Lindsay Davenport, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Dinara Safina, Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Sam Stosur and Kim Clijsters.
She is known for her unorthodox style of play using two hands on both her forehand and backhand. On January 30th 2012 she rose to a new career high ranking of No.7 in the world.
Bartoli was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. She is of Corsican, Catalan, and metropolitan French descent.[3] She started playing tennis at the age of six. Bartoli trained in a small facility as a youngster, where there was not much room behind the baseline. Her father, Walter, gave up his career as a doctor to become her full-time coach when Bartoli won the 2001 Junior US Open title, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.
She is an animal lover and has a cat named Calinette. Bartoli has a brother who is in the French military. Her role model off the court is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. She is also an admirer of Roger Federer. Her mother Sophie, is a nurse and is rarely seen in the crowd, as she gets so nervous watching her daughter play. Bartoli has told the press she had an IQ of 175, when tested as a child.[4]
Bartoli is known for her unorthodox and very intense style of play on the court. She uses two hands on both the forehand and the backhand, and is generally classed as an aggressive and hard-hitting player. She developed her two-handed style on the advice of her father, who is also her coach. He had seen the classic 1992 French Open final in which Monica Seles defeated Steffi Graf, and immediately was inspired to teach the technique to his daughter.
Bartoli also had trouble with her forehand at the time, so when she made the switch to two hands, it greatly improved and she has never stopped. She uses her double-fisted strokes to create sharp angles to open up the court and prefers to take the ball very early on groundstrokes. Her return of serve is considered to be her biggest weapon and she often stands inside the baseline to receive serve, even on first serves.
Her style of play can be most closely compared to that of Seles, who had a strong influence on Bartoli as a young player, though unlike Seles, Bartoli is right-handed.
In the past she was not a very good mover and was further inhibited by her two-fisted strokes, which could make her vulnerable to fast all-court players. Since then Bartoli has worked on her fitness and mobility and has lost weight, and now her court movement has improved markedly.
Bartoli is also known for her unusual serve, in which she uses her wrist to generate speed. She has also changed her service motion many times over the years. Furthermore, Bartoli manifests unusual on-court mannerisms and never stops moving and jumps on the spot between points. She is continuously moving her legs and sometimes does this when her opponent is serving.
Bartoli is currently playing using the new Prince EXO 3 Warrior racquet. She has previously used the Prince EXO3 Black and the Prince O3 Red. All her Prince racquets are modified in New York to make them longer by 1.5 inches than standard racquets to give her better reach with her two-handed strokes. For many years she had no clothing sponsor, but wore Nike. In October 2011, she signed a three year clothing deal with Lotto. Before her breakthrough into the top 100, Bartoli was playing with a standard length Babolat racquet and she was wearing Le Coq Sportif apparel.
Bartoli started entering tournaments regularly at the age of 16. After a few aborted starts in 1999 and 2000, in 2001 she played in the ITF $10,000 clay events in the spring. Winning two tournaments back to back in May (in Hatfield and Torino) ensured that the French Open would giver her a wildcard into her first Grand Slam, where she lost to Catalina Castaño. Bartoli also won another tournament in Koksijde, Belgium.
In 2002, she received a wildcard into the Australian Open. She lost to Tina Pisnik, 3–6, 6–4, 7–9. She then won her fourth ITF title in Columbus, Ohio. She followed that with a first-round exit at the French Open, losing in three sets to Ai Sugiyama. In the US Open where she qualified, she upset Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, 6–3, 6–1. It was Bartoli's first win over a player in the top 100. She followed that with a win over Rossana de los Ríos, before losing to fourth seed Lindsay Davenport, 3–6, 1–6.
Bartoli began 2003 by reaching her first WTA semifinals in the Canberra Women's Classic, losing to Francesca Schiavone, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, after coming through the qualifying draw. For the first time, she earned her place in a Grand Slam (the Australian Open) through her ranking, but lost to 11th seed Magdalena Maleeva in the first round in straight sets. She then received a wildcard in Paris, but lost in the first round to Maja Matevžič. She then qualified for her first Tier I event at Indian Wells, California, before losing in straight sets to eighth-seeded Chanda Rubin in the second round. She repeated this two weeks later by qualifying in Key Biscayne, Florida, but this time made it to the quarterfinals, after Davenport retired in their fourth-round match because of an injured hamstring. She then lost to Serena Williams, 1–6, 2–6.[5]
She qualified for the Sarasota Clay Court Classic and the Family Circle Cup, but lost in the first round of both tournaments, as well as in the first round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships. In the Internationaux de Strasbourg, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Vera Zvonareva 1–6, 2–6. At the 2003 French Open, she earned her first victory over Rossana de los Ríos 6–3, 6–0, but lost to Jennifer Capriati in the second round. In the grass season, she made it to the third round in Birmingham, losing to Elena Dementieva after upsetting Émilie Loit in the first round. She then lost to compatriot Amélie Mauresmo in 's-Hertogenbosch. At her first Wimbledon, she drew the ninth seed, Slovak Daniela Hantuchová in the first round and lost 4–6, 1–6.
She lost in early rounds in Bank of the West Classic, JPMorgan Chase Open, Rogers AT&T Cup, and Pilot Pen Tennis. However, at the Acura Classic, she defeated her first top-20 player in Meghann Shaughnessy 3–6, 7–6, 7–5, but lost to Kim Clijsters in the third round 1–6, 1–6. She drew Hantuchová again in the first round of the US Open, and again only took five games off the Slovak, this time losing 3–6, 2–6. She then failed to qualify in the Sparkassen Cup and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. At the end of the year, she reached the second round of Generali Ladies Linz, losing to Vera Zvonareva, and the quarterfinals of Bell Challenge, losing to Milagros Sequera, 6–1, 3–6, 1–6.
Bartoli began 2004 by getting to her first Women's Tennis Association (WTA) semifinal in the season-opener in Auckland. She got to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time, losing to 22nd-seeded Patty Schnyder in three sets.
In February, Bartoli played at the 2004 Hyderabad Open, where she won three straight matches against Ankita Bhambri, Galina Fokina, and Mervana Jugić-Salkić to reach the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Nicole Pratt in three sets. This performance briefly made her a top-50 player.
But simultaneously she refound her doubles form of late 2003. Partnering compatriot Émilie Loit, she reached the semifinals of Acapulco, the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, and then Bartoli won her first WTA tour doubles title in Casablanca.
After a forgettable singles clay-court season (culminating in her second loss to Sugiyama at her native Grand Slam event), she rose back up the rankings by reaching the third round of Wimbledon (losing to Sugiyama for the second successive Grand Slam). She also got to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in doubles, partnering Loit for the second successive Grand Slam (they had failed to get beyond the second round of the French Open). Bartoli got to her third singles semifinal of the year in Cincinnati, before pulling out of her match with Lindsay Davenport with a blister on her right hand. She reached the second round of the US Open, despite being drawn against 32nd-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round. She lost to Russian Vera Douchevina in three sets in the second round.
In the absence of Amélie Mauresmo (with a groin injury) and Mary Pierce (with a shoulder problem), Bartoli received her debut Fed Cup call-up for France's semifinals against Spain. She was teamed with Loit again and helped complete a 5–0 whitewash of the Spanish team. In the final against Russia, Svetlana Kuznetsova had lost both of her matches, and Anastasia Myskina had won both of hers, making Bartoli's and Loit's doubles match against Myskina and Vera Zvonareva the decisive rubber. The Russian pair won the first set in a tiebreak, then the second set 7–5, handing the Fed Cup to Russia for the first time. As a result, her team leader Guy Forget resigned, and she was not chosen by the new team leader Georges Goven to play in 2005.[6]
She ended 2004 ranked world no. 41, having gone 30–24 over the year. Her hard-court record was 23–13, with clay going 4–7, grass 3–3, and carpet 0–1.
After a promising start (semifinals in Auckland and quarterfinals in Canberra), which took her to world no. 32 and winning the second doubles tournament of her career in Pattaya City, injury disrupted the second quarter of 2005 for Bartoli. The only match she played in the clay-court season was her straight-sets first-round loss to Shahar Pe'er at the French Open (where she was seeded for the first time, 28th). Her quarterfinal run at Eastbourne (where she had to retire hurt) led her to a career-high ranking of no. 27 entering Wimbledon. She lost to Jill Craybas in the second round, 1–6, 4–6. Highlights of the year were reaching the third round of the US Open for the second time (losing to Sania Mirza) and making her second Women's Tennis Association semifinal of the year (and fifth of her career) in Québec.
Her end-of-season stats were 35–26, albeit padded by a victory in a satellite tournament in Doha at the end of the year. She went 30–21 on hard courts, 0–1 on clay, 3–3 on grass, and 2–1 on carpet. She was now ranked world no. 40.
In January 2006, Bartoli at 21 years of age won her first senior title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, beating Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6–2, 6–2. The tournament marked the first time she had beaten a top-10 player, when Nadia Petrova retired in the third set of their semifinal with a leg injury. She then lost in the second round of the first three Grand Slam events of the year (losing to Roberta Vinci in Australia, Serb Jelena Janković at the French Open, and Karolina Šprem at Wimbledon, all in three sets), but she won her third career doubles title by capturing the ECM Prague Open with Shahar Pe'er in May.
The North American summer hard-court season was very productive for Bartoli, getting to the third round (and in some cases that meant the quarterfinals) of five of the seven tournaments she entered, including the US Open, where she again lost in the third round, this time to seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder. The following week, she beat the Swiss player on route to her second final of the year in Bali, where she lost to world no. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
In October, Bartoli won her second Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles title at the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, beating Aiko Nakamura, 2–6, 6–2, 6–2, in the final. This was the first ever WTA final contested by two players using two-handed strokes on both the forehand and backhand.[citation needed] As a result of winning the title, she broke into the top 20 for the first time. In her last event of the year, she captured the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, shutting out Olga Poutchkova in the final, 6–0, 6–0.
Bartoli finished the year ranked world no. 17. Her record was 45–28, her best on tour so far. That consisted of 37–17 on hard courts, 4–6 on clay, 3–3 on grass, and 1–2 on carpet. She was 3–6 against top-10 players.
Bartoli began 2007 with another second-round exit at the Australian Open, this time falling to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. She then performed well at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, defeating ninth seed Dinara Safina, 6–4, 6–3, in the third round, before losing to sixth seed Nicole Vaidišová, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, in the fourth round.
Bartoli then began to find her form during the clay-court season, which had previously not been a successful surface for her. She reached the final of the ECM Prague Open in May, losing to Akiko Morigami. Bartoli was hindered by a hip injury during the latter stages of the Prague tournament and withdrew from the Tier I tournament in Rome as a result. After reaching the semifinals in Strasbourg, she lost to Amélie Mauresmo. Then she reached her first career Grand Slam fourth round at the French Open by defeating Aravane Rezaï, 6–2, 6–4, Andrea Petkovic, 0–6, 6–2, 6–3 and 13th seed Elena Dementieva, 6–2, 6–4. In the fourth round, she was knocked out by fourth seed Jelena Janković, 1–6, 1–6. During this match, Bartoli injured her back.
Her form continued into the grass-court season, beating Daniela Hantuchová in three sets en route to a semifinal encounter with Maria Sharapova in Birmingham, which she lost in straight sets. A week later in Eastbourne, she got to her second successive semifinal, dispatching Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals, 6–1, 6–0, before losing to world no. 1 Justine Henin, 1–6, 3–6.
At Wimbledon, Bartoli made her long-awaited Grand Slam breakthrough by advancing to her first Grand Slam final. After a win against 16th seed Shahar Pe'er, Bartoli upset third seeded Jelena Janković, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, in a match interrupted by many rain delays. Bartoli followed this by beating Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, in another delayed match. In her first Grand Slam semifinal, Bartoli came from behind to stun top-seeded Justine Henin, 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, in one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.[7] Bookmakers had Henin at 1/33 to win, and Bartoli was a 10–1 outside shot. Bartoli claimed afterwards that the reason for her turnaround in the match was seeing Pierce Brosnan in the royal box and being determined to play well in front of one of her favourite actors. In her post-match interview, she asked the former James Bond star if he could come back for the final the next day to see her again. However, the following day Brosnan was unable to attend, due to a wedding. In the final, Bartoli lost to three-time former champion Venus Williams, 4–6, 1–6. Her father, who was sitting in the player's box behind Williams' father Richard, broke down and cried when she acknowledged him in her post-match remarks as being responsible for her achievements. As a result of her Wimbledon performance, she rose to a career high of no. 11 in the Women's Tennis Association rankings.
After withdrawing from the Fed Cup, her first foray into the US Open Series ended in a defeat at Stanford. Seeded second, Bartoli faced American wildcard Lilia Osterloh in the second round and lost 7–5, 4–6, 3–6. Bartoli suffered a leg injury in the first set, which hindered her movement; she also cited fatigue and illness as contributing factors to the loss. In San Diego, Bartoli edged past Aiko Nakamura 7–6, 6–1, after a first-round bye, but lost to Elena Dementieva in the third round, 4–6, 5–7. This loss was perhaps seen as surprising because Bartoli had won their last two meetings, including losing just one game at Eastbourne. Despite the loss, Bartoli claimed that her level of play was fine; however, she lost her next match in Los Angeles to an in-form Maria Kirilenko 6–7, 3–6, after receiving a bye to the second round.
Bartoli picked up her form in Toronto, winning consecutive matches for the first time since Wimbledon. She beat Maria Kirilenko and Dinara Safina, but retired in her quarterfinal match against Yan Zi when trailing 2–6, 0–3. At New Haven, she beat Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–0, 6–4, before losing to Elena Dementieva once again 4–6, 2–6.
At the US Open, she reached the fourth round for the first time by defeating world no. 25 Lucie Šafářová in three sets. In the fourth round, she lost to eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams 3–6, 4–6.
After her US Open performance, Bartoli began her indoor season at a small tournament in Kolkata, India. She was the top-seeded player, but lost to Vania King. She then played at the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg, where she reached her first semifinal since her Wimbledon run by beating defending champion Alona Bondarenko and top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze for her third top-10 win of the year. However, she was then beaten by Daniela Hantuchová, 2–6, 2–6. She then suffered a first-round loss in Stuttgart to Agnieszka Radwańska, 6–0, 2–6, 1–6, on her 23rd birthday.
Bartoli then moved to the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the first Tier I of the indoor season. She was the fifth seed at this event, and in the first round beat Alona Bondarenko for the second time in three weeks, 6–2, 7–5. However, she lost in the next round to home favourite Vera Dushevina, 6–2, 0–6, 4–6. She then moved on to another Tier I event in Zürich and reached the quarterfinals with wins over Peng Shuai and Michaëlla Krajicek. Her run came to an unfortunate end against Tatiana Golovin, when she had to retire with a knee injury whilst leading 5–4. Bartoli hurt herself during the game at 4–4, where she broke Golovin to love due to a string of unforced errors from her compatriot, and despite attempts to continue, she was forced to retire and reportedly left the court in tears.[8]
Despite her injury, Bartoli still played at the Generali Ladies Linz held in Austria. After a first-round bye, she defeated homecrowd favourite Tamira Paszek in the second round, 6–2, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, she was pushed to three sets by a resilient Julia Vakulenko, but eventually prevailed, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4, to reach her second semifinal since Luxembourg. There, she lost to eventual runner-up Patty Schnyder, 6–7, 3–6, ending her hopes of reaching the WTA Tour Championships. However, after Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament due to her injury,[9] Bartoli entered the event and played in the yellow group. Since Serena had already played one match, Bartoli did not play Anna Chakvetadze. Bartoli lost 0–6, 0–6 to Justine Henin, who avenged her shock Wimbledon defeat to Bartoli, but Bartoli defeated Jelena Janković, 6–1, 1–0, after the Serbian retired.
Her final record for the year was 47–31, with 19–16 on hard courts, 14–7 on clay, 12–3 on grass, and 2–5 on carpet. Her record against top-10 players was 4–8. Despite not having earned a single title all year, she ended the year as a top-10 player at no. 10.
Bartoli started the year by playing the Medibank International in Sydney, losing to Francesca Schiavone in the second round 6–2, 3–6, 2–6. At the Australian Open, Bartoli was upset by Sofia Arvidsson 7–6, 4–6, 3–6, after Bartoli was up a break in both the second and third sets. At the Open Gaz de France, Bartoli made it to the semifinals, following easy wins over Virginie Razzano and Dominika Cibulková. However, she suffered a back injury while 6–2, 2–1 up against Anna Chakvetadze, but eventually lost 6–2, 2–6, 0–6. In Doha and Dubai, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki and Francesca Schiavone.
In the Indian Wells, California, following wins over Elena Vesnina and Angelique Kerber, she lost in the fourth round to Lindsay Davenport 5–7, 2–6. In Key Biscayne, Florida in her first match, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki 3–6, 1–6. On clay at Amelia Island, Florida, she lost in the second round to Olga Govortsova. In Charleston, South Carolina, she received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Casey Dellacqua 7–5, 4–6, 6–1, but lost to Vera Zvonareva 4–6, 6–4, 1–6. Then at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she made the third round, following an easy 6–0, 6–3 win over Lucie Šafářová, but was upset by Ágnes Szávay in the third round, 5–7, 5–7.
In Rome, she was seeded eighth and got a bye. In the third round, she was defeated by ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, after leading 4–1 in the last set and holding a match point in the tiebreak. She then played in Strasbourg as the top seed. She badly injured her wrist and withdrew while trailing 1–6, 0–1 against Chinese Peng Shuai in her first match. At the French Open, she played through injury and was defeated by Dellacqua in the first round 7–6, 3–6, 2–6.
Seeded first at Birmingham, she was upset 7–5, 4–6, 0–6 by Petra Cetkovská. At Eastbourne, she defeated Sybille Bammer 6–3, 6–0, and Alisa Kleybanova 6–3, 6–3, but lost her semifinal match to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska 5–7, 3–6. At Wimbledon, she was seeded 11th and defeated Sabine Lisicki 6–2, 6–4, and Tathiana Perebiynis 6–2, 7–5. She was upset by Bethanie Mattek 4–6, 1–6, suffering calf and shoulder injuries.
Seeded sixth at Stanford, she defeated Akgul Amanmuradova in straight sets, Anne Keothavong, defending champion Anna Chakvetadze 6–3, 6–4, and Ai Sugiyama 6–3, 6–3, to move into her first final since Wimbledon in 2007. In the final, Bartoli lost to the Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak, 5–7, 3–6. In Montreal, she overcame a stomach virus to beat Melanie South, 6–3, 6–7, 6–0. After a walkover in the second round, Bartoli defeated Anna Chakvetadze, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, saving three match points in the process. Then in the quarterfinals, she beat Ai Sugiyama, again in straight sets. Playing with a twisted ankle, Bartoli fell to Dominika Cibulková in the semifinals, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6.
In Cincinnati, she was seeded first, but pulled out while trailing 6–7, 2–2 to Jamea Jackson because of an abdominal strain. Then in New Haven, she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, but lost to Caroline Wozniacki, 4–6, 0–6. At the US Open, she was seeded 12th and strolled through her opening rounds against Galina Voskoboeva and Virginia Ruano Pascual. She then beat former champion and 23rd-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the third round, 6–1, 7–6. She lost to 29th-seeded Sybille Bammer in the fourth round, 6–7, 6–0, 4–6.
Bartoli's first event during the new WTA calendar was the inaugural Brisbane International. She was seeded third and defeated Monika Wejnert, 6–1, 6–2, Melinda Czink, 5–7, 6–3, 6–1, Tathiana Garbin, 6–3, 6–3. During the semifinal against Amélie Mauresmo, the latter had to retire due to injury; securing Bartoli a place in the final, which she lost to Victoria Azarenka, 3–6, 1–6. Bartoli withdrew from the Medibank International Sydney due to a left calf strain during a match with qualifier Melanie South, while tied at 1–1.
Seeded 16th at the Australian Open, she defeated Melanie South 6–2, 6–4, Tsvetana Pironkova 7–5, 6–2, and Lucie Šafářová, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1. Bartoli then stunned top seed Jelena Janković of Serbia by crushing her in straight sets 6–1, 6–4. However, she lost to seventh seeded Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals 3–6, 0–6. In 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships seeded 11th, she defeated Ai Sugiyama 6–0, 4–6, 7–6, and Francesca Schiavone 7–6, 3–6, 6–3, in the second round. However, in the third round, she retired while 2–5 down against Vera Zvonareva.
Bartoli then won her fourth career title at the Monterrey Open. Bartoli was seeded second, with wins over Michaëlla Krajicek 6–2, 6–4, Magdaléna Rybáriková 6–0, 6–4, Vania King 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, and Zheng Jie 7–5, 6–3. In the final, Bartoli defeated another Chinese player, unseeded Li Na 6–4, 6–3. Next, she suffered disappointing consecutive second-round defeats at Indian Wells and Miami, to Shahar Pe'er 6–1, 4–6, 5–7, and Anastasiya Yakimova 4–6, 3–6, after suffering from a viral illness.
After being too late to receive a wildcard into the Ponte Vedra Beach main draw, Bartoli accepted a wildcard into the qualifying draw and qualified. Bartoli faced the lower ranked eighth seed, Bethanie Mattek-Sands. However, Bartoli lost in a closely fought match 7–5, 6–7, 3–6. In Charleston, she was seeded sixth and defeated Anastasija Sevastova 6–1, 6–3, Melanie Oudin 6–4, 6–1, and Melinda Czink 6–4, 6–1, but lost to eventual champion Sabine Lisicki 3–6, 1–6, in the semifinal.
In Stuttgart, she defeated Karolina Šprem 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, and beat Caroline Wozniacki 7–6, 6–4. She then lost a close match against no. 3 Elena Dementieva 2–6, 6–4, 3–6. In Rome, she defeated Peng Shuai 6–0, 7–6, but fell to resurgent María José Martínez Sánchez 1–6, 5–7. In Madrid, she fell to Aleksandra Wozniak 6–7, 2–6, in the first round. At the French Open, Bartoli won her opening match against fellow Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 3–6, 6–1, 6–3. Bartoli was then upset by Tathiana Garbin of Italy in the second round 3–6, 5–7.
On grass, Bartoli advanced to the second round in Eastbourne by easing past Gisela Dulko 6–3, 6–1, Anna Chakvetadze 7–5, 6–3, and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–1, 6–4, before retiring with an injury against Virginie Razzano whilst trailing 4–6, 0–1. Seeded 12th at Wimbledon, Bartoli dominated Chan Yung-jan 6–0, 6–0. She then defeated Timea Bacsinszky in the second round 7–5, 6–1, but fell 6–7, 0–6, to Francesca Schiavone in the third round.
Bartoli played her first tournament of the US Open Series in Stanford as eighth seed. She won the title by defeating Ayumi Morita 7–6, 6–3, Melanie Oudin 7–5, 6–4, Jelena Janković 3–6, 7–6, 6–3, saving two match points in the second set, Samantha Stosur in the semifinals 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, and second seed Venus Williams in the finals 6–2, 5–7, 6–4, to win her second title of the year and fifth overall.[10] Bartoli was seeded 13th at the Cincinnati Masters, but fell to Kim Clijsters in her comeback match, in the first round 4–6, 3–6. She then lost in the first round of Toronto to Alona Bondarenko 4–6, 3–6. In New Haven, she beat María José Martínez Sánchez 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, but retired from the next round against Magdaléna Rybáriková.
Seeded 14th at the 2009 US Open, Bartoli crushed Rossana de los Ríos 6–1, 6–0, but lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters 7–5, 1–6, 2–6. Seeded 14th at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Bartoli won over Sorana Cîrstea 6–3, 6–0, Aravane Rezaï 6–4, 6–2, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 4–6, 6–2, 7–5. In the quarterfinals, Marion lost to 7th seed Jelena Janković, 4–6, 3–6. Marion entered the China Open in Beijing and was seeded 14. She defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, Alisa Kleybanova, 6–2, 6–3, Zhang Shuai, 6–1, 6–4, and Vera Zvonareva, 3–6, 7–5, 6–2. In the semifinals, Marion lost to 12th seed Agnieszka Radwańska, 4–6, 3–6, despite being up a break at stages in both sets. As second seed in Osaka, Japan, Bartoli defeated Galina Voskoboeva, 6–3, 7–5, and Kurumi Nara, 6–1, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, Bartoli was defeated by Sania Mirza, as Marion retired due to pain in her right shoulder.
At the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Bartoli defeated Rybáriková, 6–4, 6–4, and qualified for the semifinals when she beat Peer, 6–3, 6–2. She then defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm, 6–1, 6–3. In the final, Bartoli lost the first set to Aravane Rezaï, 5–7, and then retired due to a left quad strain.
Bartoli started her year as the 11th seed at the 2010 Australian Open. She defeated Rossana de los Ríos in the first round, 6–4, 6–1. In the second round, she defeated Sandra Záhlavová, 6–4, 6–4. In the third round, she lost to unseeded and eventual semifinalist Zheng Jie, 7–5, 3–6, 0–6, ending her hopes of reaching the quarterfinals again.
Bartoli then competed at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded 11th. She defeated qualifier Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, 6–2, 6–0, in just 63 minutes. In the second round, she defeated Alexandra Dulgheru, 6–2, 6–1, in just 57 minutes. In the third round, she lost to 8th seed Li Na 6–3, 5–7, 0–6, despite being up 5–2 in the second set and having two opportunities to serve out the match.
Bartoli then entered the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, where she was seeded 11th. She received a bye in the first round and defeated Polona Hercog 6–4, 6–2, in the second round. In the third round, she defeated American veteran Jill Craybas 6–2, 6–0, to move on to the fourth round, where she was once again defeated by world no. 8 and 5th seed Agnieszka Radwańska 3–6, 2–6. Despite this loss, Marion gained ranking points overall, having improved on her second round exit last year and moved up from no. 16 to no. 15 in the world.
Bartoli's then entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, another Premier Mandatory event, where she improved on a disappointing second-0round loss last year. As the 13th seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková 6–2, 6–4, in straight sets, despite being 1–4 down in the second set. In the third round, she defeated unseeded Gisela Dulko 7–6, 6–4, to advance to the fourth round, where she defeated top seed and world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–0, in under an hour. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 12th seed Yanina Wickmayer 6–4, 7–5, in just under 2 hours. At one stage in the second set, Bartoli was 2–4, 30–40 down against Wickmayer's serve, and later on faced three consecutive set points whilst serving at 4–5, 0–40. Bartoli saved them all, winning 12 of the next 13 points to close in on victory and to book her place in the semifinal against world no. 5 Venus Williams. She lost 3–6, 4–6 to the world no. 5, despite being 3–1 up in the second set. Bartoli also had trouble with her serve and served up four double faults in one game during the match, and seven overall. However, due to Marion's good performance in Miami, she moved up to no. 12 in the world.
Bartoli then began her clay-court season at the 2010 Family Circle Cup, a Premier Event in Charleston. Bartoli was seeded fifth, and as a top-8 seed she received a bye into the second round. She retired against Peng Shuai in her second round match whilst trailing 6–2, 6–7, 3–4, due to dizziness and apparent abdominal pains. She lost her semifinal points from 2009 and dropped one place in the rankings to no. 13.
She then flew to Europe to compete on the red clay and entered the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she had made the quarterfinals in 2009. Marion narrowly missed out on being seeded and had a tough draw, losing to 7th seed and eventual finalist Samantha Stosur in the first round, 2–6, 1–6. Marion lost valuable points again and dropped to no. 14.
Bartoli then competed at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open as the 12th seed. Marion defeated Polona Hercog in the first round, taking 2 hours and 30 minutes to defeat the young clay-court specialist, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4. Marion was then upset by world no. 54 Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round 2–6, 0–6.
Bartoli then competed at her final clay-court tournament before the French Open, the 2010 Polsat Warsaw Open, where she was seeded 4th. Despite telling the press that she felt confident with the draw and her physical condition, Marion lost to world no. 78 Klára Zakopalová in the first round 6–4, 1–6, 2–6.
Bartoli then competed at the 2010 French Open as the 12th seed and French no. 1 with only one win on clay under her belt. She drew Maria Elena Camerin in the first round, and she beat her 6–2, 6–3. In the second round, she defeated compatriot and wildcard Olivia Sanchez 7–5, 6–2. She was defeated by Israeli Shahar Pe'er in the third round 6–7, 2–6.
Bartoli was seeded 8th at the AEGON International. Bartoli defeated Vera Dushevina 6–4, 7–5, Ágnes Szávay 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, and María José Martínez Sánchez 5–7, 6–4, 7–6, before falling in the semifinals to Victoria Azarenka 3–6, 5–7. It was the fourth consecutive year that Bartoli had made the semifinals at Eastbourne.
Bartoli was seeded 11th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Julia Görges in the first round 6–4, 6–3, and moved straight into the third round after Petra Martić withdrew from the tournament with suspected injury. In the third round, Marion defeated qualifier Gréta Arn 6–3, 6–4, before falling 4–6, 4–6 in the fourth round to eventual semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova.
At the 2010 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, where she was defending her title, she defeated American Ashley Harkleroad 6–1, 6–4, in the first round. In the second round, she defeated former world no. 1 Ana Ivanović 6–3, 6–4, before falling in the quarterfinals and losing her crown to Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 3–6, 3–6. This loss caused her to drop to world no. 20, the lowest her ranking has been for a few years.
Bartoli then flew to San Diego to compete at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open, where she was seeded 6th. In the opening round, she was defeated by Daniela Hantuchová 3–6, 7–6, 6–4.
Bartoli then entered the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati and was seeded 16th. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–4, 6–0, in the first round and Alona Bondarenko 7–6, 6–1, in the second round. In the third round, she came back from a break down 3–4 in the first set to defeat second seed and world no. 3 Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, she was defeated by 10th seed Maria Sharapova 1–6, 4–6.
Seeded 17th at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Bartoli defeated Canadian wildcard Valérie Tétreault in the first round 6–1, 6–0. In the second, she was scheduled to play Lucky Loser Kimiko Date-Krumm, before Kimiko withdrew from the match with a leg injury. Marion received a walkover into the third round, where she crushed qualifier Iveta Benešová 6–0, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, she was defeated for the third time this year by 10th seed Victoria Azarenka 2–6, 6–7, despite having four set points at 6–2 up in the tiebreak.
At her final tournament before the US Open, the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Bartoli was seeded 6th and defeated Alona Bondarenko in a first-round marathon 6–7, 7–6, 6–3. She defeated Anastasia Rodionova in the second round 6–3, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, Marion lost an exhausting encounter with 4th seed Elena Dementieva 3–6, 6–3, 2–6.
At the 2010 US Open, Marion was seeded 13th and defeated Edina Gallovits 6–3, 6–2, in the first round. In the second round, she was upset by world no. 157 and French compatriot Virginie Razzano 5–7, 4–6.
Putting her disappointing loss at the US Open behind her, Bartoli flew to Canada to compete in the 2010 Bell Challenge in Quebec. Seeded first, she was looking to gain her first title of the year. She hammered Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the first round 6–1, 6–1, but was upset by Canadian wildcard Rebecca Marino 3–6, 1–6, in the second round. During the match, Bartoli had trouble with her serve, and served eight double faults and three aces in eight service games, whereas Marino served 10 aces and one double fault.
Bartoli then entered the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, a Premier event in Tokyo, where she attempted to defend quarterfinal points. In the first round, she defeated Yanina Wickmayer (the highest ranked unseeded player in the draw at 21) in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. She defeated Ana Ivanović in the second round, 6–2, 6–1, to book a third-round encounter with 8th-seed Victoria Azarenka. After taking a long medical timeout at 1–4 in the first set, Marion attempted to continue, but after losing the first set 2–6, Bartoli retired due to illness.
Her next tournament was the 2010 China Open, a Premier Mandatory event in Beijing. She faced Ana Ivanović in the first round and lost, 2–6, 3–6.
Bartoli then entered her final tournament of the year, the 2010 HP Open in Osaka, Japan. Ranked no. 16 in the world, she was seeded second behind Samantha Stosur. Bartoli cruised into the quarterfinals by defeating Julie Coin, 6–2, 6–1, and Stefanie Vögele, 6–2, 6–2. She then defeated American veteran Jill Craybas, 6–1, 6–2, to book a place in the semifinals with Tamarine Tanasugarn, where she lost 2–6, 5–7.
Bartoli ended the year at world no. 16 with a total record of 34–21 and a record of 2–4 against top-10 players.
Bartoli kicked off her 2011 season on January 2 with an appearance at the 2011 Brisbane International. She was seeded fourth and defeated American qualifier Vania King in the first round, 6–1, 6–2. She then defeated Czech player Iveta Benešová, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, to book a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated another Czech player Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, 6–2, 6–1. In the semifinals, she was defeated by Andrea Petkovic 4–6, 2–6, despite being up a double break 4–1 in the first set.
Bartoli was top seeded at the 2011 Moorilla Hobart International in her first appearance at the tournament. A tough test was expected in the first round, as she had drawn former world no. 1 Dinara Safina in the first round. However, Bartoli won easily, 6–0, 6–1. She defeated Elena Vesnina in the next round 6–4, 6–1, before losing to fifth seed Klára Zakopalová in the quarterfinals 4–6, 2–6.
Bartoli was seeded 15th at the 2011 Australian Open Grand Slam, and she played Tathiana Garbin in the first round and won with a double bagel, 6–0, 6–0. She was defeated by Vesna Manasieva is the second round 6–3, 3–6, 0–6, after tearing her right calf muscle at 5–1 in the first set.
Bartoli was expected to be away from the tour for 4–6 weeks to recover from her injury, but she played the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships. She was seeded 10th and defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round 7–6, 6–4. In the second round, she came back from 3–6, 1–4 to defeat Timea Bacsinszky 3–6, 6–4, 6–1. In the third round, she was defeated by 8th seed Agnieszka Radwańska 3–6, 2–6.
Her next tournament was the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open in Doha. With a strong field, Marion was unseeded and defeated Alisa Kleybanova in the first round 7–5, 6–2. She then crushed Shahar Pe'er, 6–1, 6–0, in the second round to book a quarterfinal place against Peng Shuai, whom she beat 6–2, 6–2. She then faced world no. 1 and first seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. However, she lost in straight sets 1–6, 1–6.
Bartoli’s next stop was the 2011 BMV Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. Playing there for the first time, Bartoli was seeded second behind Francesca Schiavone. In the first round, she crushed Maria-Elena Camerin 6–0, 6–1. She defeated Ekaterina Ivanova in the second round 6–2, 6–1, before losing to fifth seed Lucie Šafářová in the quarterfinals 1–6, 4–6.
Bartoli was seeded 15th at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Like all seeds, she received a bye into the second round, where she faced qualifier and fellow double-hander Monica Niculescu. Bartoli came from a set and a break down at 2–6, 1–2 to win 2–6, 6–3, 6–2. She then cruised past 21st seed Andrea Petkovic in the third round 6–4, 6–2, to book a fourth-round encounter with second seed Kim Clijsters. Clijsters won the first set 6–3, but at 1–3 in the second set Clijsters retired due to a right shoulder injury. Bartoli edged 19th seed Ana Ivanović in the quarterfinals 6–4, 7–6, and easily defeated 23rd seed Yanina Wickmayer 6–1, 6–3, in the semifinals to reach the final, where she played against world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Bartoli was defeated 1–6, 6–2, 3–6, but returned to the top 10, regardless of the loss.
Seeded 15th at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Bartoli received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Ayumi Morita 6–3, 2–6, 6–1. She then defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6–0, 6–2, before falling to third seed Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round 6–2, 3–6, 2–6.
Her next tournament was the 2011 Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded fourth. As a top-8 seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she was defeated by Sabine Lisicki 2–6, 3–6.
Bartoli was seeded 8th at the 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round 6–4, 6–1. Kristina Barrois defeated her in the second round in straight sets.
Bartoli was seeded first at the 2011 Barcelona Ladies Open in Barcelona, and Magdaléna Rybáriková defeated her in the first round in straight sets.
Bartoli's next tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja 6–3, 6–2, before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5–7, 1–6, in the second round.
Her poor form on clay continued into the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she lost in the second round to Anabel Medina Garrigues 4–6, 3–6.
Seeded first at the 2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Bartoli reached the semifinals, after defeating Kimiko Date-Krumm 6–2, 6–1, receiving a walkover from Elena Baltacha and defeating 8th seed Lucie Hradecká 6–2, 6–3. She then defeated seventh seed Anabel Medina Garrigues to face second seed Andrea Petkovic in the final. However, she had to retire early in the second set.
Seeded 11th at the 2011 French Open, Bartoli won her opening round against Anna Tatishvili 1–6, 6–2, 6–1. In the second round, she beat Olga Govortsova in a tight baseline battle in just under three hours 6–4, 6–7, 6–2. Bartoli then defeated 17th seed Julia Goerges 3–6, 6–2. 6–4. She moved to the quarterfinals after Gisela Dulko retired from their fourth round match at 7–5, 1–0. Bartoli's dream of playing in the second week of her home slam became a reality, as she faced 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. After two hours, Bartoli moved into the final four with a 7–6, 6–4 win. In the semifinals, she faced defending champion, Francesca Schiavone. Bartoli eventually lost, bringing her French Open campaign to an end 3–6, 3–6.
Moving onto the grass, Bartoli won the 2011 AEGON International at Eastbourne by defeating Lucie Šafářová 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6–3, 6–3. She then moved past third seed Victoria Azarenka, when Victoria retired during their match due to a thigh injury. Bartoli reached the semifinals for the fifth straight year and beat seventh seed Samantha Stosur. She then beat eighth seed Petra Kvitová to win the title.
Seeded ninth at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Bartoli breezed into the second round with a 6–0, 6–2 win over Czech qualifier Kristyna Pliskova. Her next opponent was Lourdes Dominguez Lino, whom she defeated 4–6, 7–5, 6–2. She advanced to the third round and faced the 21st seed, Flavia Pennetta. Bartoli finally won the match, which lasted over three hours, with a score of 5–7, 6–4, 9–7. She then defeated defending champion and grass-court veteran Serena Williams in the fourth round in straight sets 6–3, 7–6. Bartoli described beating Williams as the greatest win of her life.[11] In the quarterfinals, she lost 4–6, 7–6, 1–6 to Sabine Lisicki in a match notable for taking place under the centre-court roof in the middle of a ferocious thunderstorm.
Seeded third at Stanford, Bartoli received a bye into the second round. She then defeated Rebecca Marino 6–4, 6–3, to move into the quarterfinals, thus defending her points from 2010. She reached the semifinals when Ayumi Morita retired from their match after losing the first set 1–6. Bartoli earned a spot in the final after 8th seed Dominika Cibulková withdrew due to an abdominal injury.[12] In the final, Bartoli was defeated by Serena Williams, 5–7, 1–6. Bartoli held a 4–2 lead in the first set, before injuring her right hand. She even served for the first set at 5–4, but her game diminished to hand Williams her first title after her comeback from injury.
Bartoli entered the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto and lost in the first round 3–6, 3–6 to Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva. At the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, she beat Alona Bondarenko. 6–1, 6–2. but she lost in the second round to Daniela Hantuchova. 3–6, 7–5, 3–6. Due to her lack of match play before the US Open, Bartoli accepted a wildcard into the 2011 New Haven Open at Yale. She won her opening two rounds, defeating Anastasia Rodionova 6–1, 6–4, and Klara Zakopalova 6–2, 2–6, 6–1, before losing to Petra Cetkovska in the quarterfinals 5–7, 5–7.
At the 2011 US Open, Bartoli suffered another second-round exit. After defeating Alexandra Panova in the first round 7–5, 6–3, she lost to American teenager Christina McHale 6–7, 2–6.
Following her poor run in the United States, Bartoli's ranking dropped to no. 10, and her RACE ranking dropped to no. 8, causing her to increase her schedule to five tournaments during the Asia tour.
Seeded second at the 2011 Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, Bartoli defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first round, 6–2, 6–2. Her second-round opponent was Vania King, who defeated her, 3–6, 5–7. Bartoli hit 17 double faults during the match.
Seeded seventh at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Bartoli received a bye in the opening round, before defeating Ayumi Morita 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. She defeated Peng Shuai 6–2, 6–1, to reach the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by third seed Victoria Azarenka 5–7, 0–6.
Seeded eighth at the 2011 China Open, Bartoli defeated Iveta Benesova in the first round 3–6, 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, she cruised past Christina McHale, 6–2, 6–1. In the third round, she came up against ninth seed Andrea Petkovic. Bartoli built up a 6–4, 3–1 lead before losing 10 of the next 12 games to go 6–4, 4–6, 1–5 down. Bartoli battled back to 5–5, before losing two more games to lose the match 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, making her hopes of qualifying for the year-end championships uncertain.
At the 2011 HP Open in Osaka, Bartoli defeated Melinda Czink 6–2, 6–2, Vania King 6–1, 6–2, 6th seed Ayumi Morita 6–2, 6–1 and No.3 seed Angelique Kerber 6–1, 7–6 to reach the final. She took the title by defeating No.1 seed and US Open Champion Samantha Stosur 6–3, 6–1 in 1 hour 14 minutes. She then entered the 2011 Kremlin Cup in Moscow as the No.3 seed. She received a bye into the second round and defeated Ksenia Pervak 6–1, 6–1. Bartoli then withdrew from the tournament due to a viral illness.
Bartoli finished the year 9th in the race to the Year End Championships in Istanbul, thus earning a place as the first alternate player alongside Andrea Petkovic who finished 10th. Following the withdrawal of No.2 seed Maria Sharapova after her second of three matches, Bartoli took the place of Sharapova in the final match against Victoria Azarenka, which she won 5–7, 6–4, 6–4.
Due to winning the 2011 HP Open title, she qualified for the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia. She was the No.1 seed but had to retire in her opening match against Anabel Medina Garrigues due to injuring her ankle at 6–4, 6–7, 0–1.
Bartoli finished the year ranked No.9 in the world with her best Win-Loss record of her career with 58–24. She reached an astonishing 15 quarterfinals, 8 semi-finals and 5 finals and won 2 titles (Eastbourne and Osaka), resulting in her best year financially, earning $1,722,863 in tournament prize money alone.
Bartoli competed for France alongside Richard Gasquet in the 2012 Hopman Cup. They defeated China 2–1, Australia 3–0 and Spain 2–0 to book a place in the final against the Czech Republic which they lost 0–2.
Ranked No.9, Bartoli entered her first WTA tournament of the year in Sydney and was seeded 8th. In the first round she defeated Polona Hercog 6–3, 6–3. In the second round she defeated Jelena Dokic 6–0, 6–3 to set up a quarterfinal clash with No.3 seed Victoria Azarenka. She lost 5–7, 4–6 despite being up a break in both sets.
At the 2012 Australian Open, Bartoli defeated compatriot Virginie Razzano 7–5, 6–0 in the first round, and Jelena Dokic 6–3, 6–2 in the second round. In the third round she was upset by Zheng Jie 6–3, 6–3. Despite the premature exit, Bartoli broke into the top eight in the rankings for the first time.
Ranked No.7, Bartoli was seeded 2nd behind Maria Sharapova for the 2012 Open GDF Suez in Paris, an indoor tournament commencing on 6th February. She received a bye into the second round where she defeated Petra Martic 7–5, 6–1. In the quarterfinals she defeated No.7 seed Roberta Vinci in a marathon match. Bartoli lost the first set and rallied back from a double break down in both the second and third sets to clinch a 4–6, 6–4, 7–6 victory. In the semifinals she defeated Klara Zakopalova 7–6, 6–0 but in the final she lost to No.9 seed Angelique Kerber 6–7, 7–5, 3–6.
In Doha, Bartoli was seeded fifth and advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–2, 6–0, Tsvetana Pironkova 6–3, 6–3 and Lucie Safarova 7–5, 4–6, 6–1. She retired due to an injury at 3–6, 0–0 against No.3 seed Samantha Stosur in the semi-finals.
At Indian Wells, Bartoli reached the quarterfinals by defeating Varvara Lepchenko, Chanelle Scheepers and Lucie Safarova. She fell to Ana Ivanovic 3–6, 4–6.
Seeded 7th in Miami, and armed with her new Prince EXO3 Warrior racket, Bartoli received a bye into the second round where she defeated Polona Hercog 5–7, 6–2, 6–1. In the third round she came back from a 2–5 deficit in the second set to defeat Simona Halep 6–4, 7–6. In the fourth round she crushed No.22 seed Maria Kirilenko 6–1, 6–2. Bartoli's big victory came in the quarterfinals where she defeated World No.1 Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–3, ending Azarenka's 26 match win streak. In the semi-finals she was defeated by No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6–4, 6–2.
At Charleston, Bartoli was seeded No.3 and received a bye into the second round where she defeated Vera Dushevina 6–2, 6–7(3), 6–4. In the third round she lost to Polona Hercog 6–4, 1–6, 6–4.
Ranked and seeded No.7, Bartoli entered the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. In the first round she defeated qualifier Iveta Benesova 6–3, 6–2. Bartoli was then crushed 6–3, 6–1 by rising star Mona Barthel in the second round. Bartoli didn't perform any better at the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open where she was defeated by Sorana Cirstea 6–7(8), 6–4, 6–3 in the first round. Seeded 7th once again, Bartoli entered the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and got a bye into the second round where she lost 6–3, 6–1 to Julia Goerges. Bartoli then lost in the first round of Brussels to Urszula Radwanska 6–4, 6–2.
Bartoli dropped to No.8 in the world and was seeded 8th at the 2012 French Open in Paris, where she is defending semifinal points from last year. Having only won 1 match on red clay in 2012, Bartoli will play against qualifier Karolina Pliskova in the first round.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "wtatour.com -> Player profiles -> Marion Bartoli -> Stats". WTA. http://www.wtatour.com/page/Player/Stats/0,,12781~1007,00.html. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- ^ Official website
- ^ Cronin, Matthew (March 18, 2011). Bartoli reports having genius-level IQ. Tennis.com
- ^ rte.ie Contrasting fortunes for Williams sisters
- ^ 网球网 – 丢了冠军 福尔热想要放弃 (Simplified Chinese only)
- ^ Cheese, Caroline (2007-07-06). "Bartoli stuns Henin to reach final". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6278644.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Kuznetsova, Bartoli retire hurt". Foxsports.com.au. 2007-10-20. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22617840-23216,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ Women's Tennis Association (2007-11-07). "Justine Reaches Semis; Injury Forces Serena Out". Women's Tennis Association. http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1887. Retrieved 2001-11-07.
- ^ "Bartoli stuns Venus to win title". BBC Sport. 2009-08-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8180188.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ "Serena loses to Bartoli in 4th round at Wimbledon". The Associated Press. 27 June 2011. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iPMXWE6kXBcuNCedPcWZanIUK8Sg?docId=01cf4dd5562f4e9cac80c38e5bc30deb. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ Randall, Sean. "Serena Seeks First Title in a Year; Fish v. Gulbis in LA Final". Tennis X. http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2011-07-31/7584.php. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
Top ten tennis players
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World rankings · Top ten tennis players as of 28 May 2012
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Bartoli, Marion |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
French tennis player |
| Date of birth |
October 2, 1984 |
| Place of birth |
Geneva, Switzerland |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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