Marion Bartoli

Bartoli press conference - feb 07/12

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Marion, how do you approach the Open GDF after Roland Garros last season?

I am impatient to start for sure. I am very happy to be back here with the ranking that I have, it is my best ranking - I hope it will be as well going into Roland Garros. This is a tournament where I always have good matches. I think the public reception will be fantastic. So I look forward to my first match and commencing the tournament.

You are world No.7. How do you manage your new status?

It is pretty nice. It comes from my year in 2011 and the results I've had. So I take it all in the right way. I prefer to be greeted this way rather than go unnoticed.

Have you forgotten your defeat at the Australian Open?

I have not forgotten. The most important thing is to learn from these defeats. In the end, I played less well in that match (in the third round against Jie Zheng), while the first two were good. I arrived in the third round more tired than usual, I don't know why. I have begun to better manage these moments of fatigue to produce a better level of play. When I'm in good form, I play well. And when I'm tired, it gets more difficult for me. I have tried to refocus, and train for this tournament. The most important thing is for me to attain a level of play when I'm also a little tired.

To reach a new level, in what area should you progress?

As I said, when I am in form, I can play very good matches. For example against Azarenka in Sydney, it was a very good match, very intense. I have a game that demands a lot of energy. So when I'm less than... it becomes complicated. I need to play at a higher level. My better level allows me to play top 5 in the world, but there is too much deviation in my average. I have been working on it. In order to win even when I am less well because of jet lag or fatigue.

Your goal is the top 5?

I have nine and seven, so the next is five (Laughter). To stay top eight by the end of the year, that would be my logic.

You played the Hopman Cup earlier in the season and now the Open GDF. Is it a way to represent your country despite the problem of the Fed Cup?

I didn't choose these two tournaments for that. I made the Hopman Cup because it's the first time I proposed to.. And to play with Richard (Gasquet), it was really good, we had a good week, it was really fun. I took some tennis lessons at the same time (laughs). For the Open GDF, it was more a problem of timing. Other years, I opted more for outdoor tournaments, not indoors. This year, given what happened at Roland Garros, and also in Strasbourg where it had gone well, I decided to come back and play in front of my crowd.

What are your chances of competing in the Olympics?

In terms of my own hopes for the Olympics, they are more than slim, I'll be honest with you. I do not fall within the eligibility criteria to receive an invitation. I'm not in perfect agreement with the Federation, and that is an understatement for me.

What for you is the cause of defeat for the French Fed Cup team this weekend?

For results in the Fed Cup, I'm sad they have lost. Facing Hantuchova and Cibulkova it's difficult, they are two very good players in singles. I think the victory of Virginie (Razzano) against Cibulkova in straight sets, this is already a feat in itself. It's really a draw more than difficult. I hope and think they will recover.

What do you think of the Rezai case?

I don't know what happened. But Aravane has proven in the past she loved playing for her country. There were many twists in this case. The most important thing is Aravane find her game on the court and realize that the full potential is enormous. She was very close to the top 10, she won in Madrid, which is a huge tournament on clay. I think everyone wants her to express it on the court.

What do you think of the current level of French women's tennis?

We had a golden generation in France with players born in 1979, including Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce, who continued as well. Tatiana Golovin and I arrived behind. There was this gap. Girls born in 1982, 1983 or 1984 haven't stepped in. Today, when you see girls that are in the World Group, it is difficult for the French team to remain. When you look at the teams in front, it's complicated. The Czechs, for example, with Kvitova and Safarova, most other players are in the top 40 worldwide.

After, there are young people coming through. Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, they have enormous potential, you just leave them a little time.

SOPHIE DORGAN - L'EQUIPE (translated)

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http://marionbartoli2.blog.co.uk/

Bartoli out to make amends at Australian Open tennis
Jan 8

PERTH, Australia — World number nine Marion Bartoli is hoping to bury the ghosts of last year's Australian Open when the first Grand Slam of the season starts in Melbourne on Monday week.

The 2007 Wimbledon finalist made an early exit in Melbourne last year, beaten in three sets in the second round by Russia's Vesna Dolonts after suffering a calf injury.

She rebounded to reach the semi-finals at the French Open on home soil and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, but said she faced difficult times after her Melbourne loss.

"I was leading 5-0 in the first set and tore my calf muscle very badly," she recalled.

"I finished that match, but had to take three weeks off and had to come back to my home on crutches. It was terrible and I don't want this experience to happen again.

"It will hit me when I am there (Melbourne), it was very hard mentally and I really went through some tough moments."

Speaking after France were beaten in the mixed team Hopman Cup final on Saturday, the 27-year-old said she was in the best shape of her career, having spent the last month training in the heat in Perth.

Bartoli said she was inspired by the recent Grand Slam successes of Li Na, Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone, all of whom won majors after repeatedly falling just short.

"I truly believe, I have been very close two times already and it's not like I don't have the potential to do it," she said.

"It is going to be hard and that it is a long way to achieve my ultimate goal which is a singles Grand Slam, but I know deeply that I have what it takes to make it.

"I feel like I have put in the hard work -- I have never worked so hard."

Bartoli said she was pleased with her form, despite winning just two of her four matches in Perth after losses to top five pair Li and Petra Kvitova.

Bartoli will round out her Australian Open preparation at the Sydney International which starts on January 8.
http://bit.ly/xnevWu

Bartoli, after beating Marino: "I love this tournament. It's a great way for me to start back. I lost to Rebecca last year in Quebec, so it was good for me to take revenge. I really felt like I was moving well. I was hitting the ball well for having three weeks off."

If you believe this... (from Tennis News):

Since she arrived in Australia early January, Marion Bartoli and her father and coach Walter have not yet gone back to their home in Switzerland.
They have chosen to remain in sunny places in order to train physically, and score better results in the early part of the season.
It seems that the long hours of physical work may be paying off.
Walter Bartoli admits that his daughter spends about 450 hours of physical training per year which is about three times the average number of hours a tennis player spends working out during the calendar year.

Bartoli won just four points in the final set against Zheng which is downright disgaceful.
I suggest we all put that in our memory banks guys.

The heartbreak of Bali is just setting in for Marion Bartoli, who squandered a 5-3 lead as a heavy favourite against compatriot Aravane Rezai and was forced to retire after losing that set (5-7) due to a quad injury sustained while chasing down a ball at 15-30 in the final game of the opening set.

Reminiscent of the 2008 Stanford final where the Frenchwoman completed the match on one leg against Wozniak, Bartoli was made to once again rue her fitness woes which continue to plague her throughout her promising career.

Speaking post-match, Marion told reporters; "I have to thank one person - my dad. Thank you so much, daddy. My leg was hurting and I tried my best to carry on, but it was too much pain. I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish today. I'd like to congratulate Aravane on the wonderful week she had. She played some great tennis. I'd like to thank Sony Ericsson for making this tour possible, and to Commonwealth Bank for this wonderful tournament."

This is an all-too-common occurence for Bartoli, who despite putting in so many hard yards this year off the court and necessarily shedding some kilos, still seems to find herself in trouble with ongoing injuries with both legs.

Bartoli's comments after her match in Bali with Rybarikova.
She says the court is "very fast":

"I'm really happy to win in two sets and I was quite happy with the level of the game," Bartoli told reporters. "The conditions were pretty difficult because the court is very fast and it's not easy to get used to it.
"There is only the one court and we are 12 players so you can't get a lot of time to practise on it. And it's the end of the year and everyone is tired so it's not easy."

Bartoli on her injury after she was walking down a quiet street in Osaka:

"It's a problem people have with me. They hate me and try and kill me."

Crazeeeeee world!

Bartoli on her injury after she retired against Mirza in Osaka:

"It's a problem with a tendon in my right shoulder, I felt it from the first point."

Bartoli admitted to French media L'Equipe that she is still struggling with a left calf muscle injury, saying; "It's a little tendinitis that I had already had at Stanford. The end of season is hard for girls who, like me, have much slower and heavier ball. I hope to recuperate very soon".