Brilliant Bartoli Bids For Dubai Title
The women’s draw for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships now boasts an amazing 17 out of the top 20 players with the inclusion of the French number one player Marion Bartoli after organizers offered her a wild card.
The Frenchwoman is currently ranked 11 after reaching a career high of 7th during 2012. Bartoli is a consistent performer, having been on the circuit since 2000 and having been ranked inside the top 20 every week since June 2007. She has 7 career singles titles and 3 doubles titles to her name, and although she didn’t add to that tally last year she did reach 2 finals and was a regular sight in the quarter finals reaching five, including at the US Open, and in the semis reaching four.
“Marion Bartoli has missed only one year of our tournament since she successfully came through the qualifying rounds in 2005. In that first year she also played an ITF event in Dubai and emerged from that as the champion,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free. “Since those early days she has continued to perform well on the tour and it is with great pleasure that we welcome back the French number one.”
However Bartoli has found it difficult in Dubai to repeat the success she has enjoyed in so many other places. She may have won seven titles, but the furthest she has reached in Dubai is the third round, something she has achieved on three occasions. She has had a number of difficult draws and met some of the highest seeds at an early stage, but it is clear from her record that she has the ability to match it with the best.
She has a history of giant killing, having taken care of world number one Victoria Azarenka in Miami last year, ending Azarenka’s 26 match winning streak. If Bartoli can match it with a player the caliber of that standard when they are on a hot streak it is reasonable to expect she could do the same in Dubai.
She is known for her unorthodox and intense style of play, and is an aggressive and hard hitting player, with an unusual serve which she developed to compensate for her relatively small stature, “It works extremely well for me I think, the take back is a bit different but when the toss is up it’s the same as everyone. I have been working extremely hard on my serve because I am not very tall and that was always my weaker shot. Now it is my weapon.”
Bartoli s also known for her remarkable intelligence, having recorded a genius level scored on an IQ test as a child. She prefers to play that down, but does admit that being smart is definitely an asset on court.
“Sometimes it helps to be smart on the court. But being a tennis player takes a lot of physical effort too. There is a combination of both. What helps me is the way I’m thinking on the court, trying always to figure out a solution. It helps me. Sometimes players come up with Plan A and never get a Plan B. I’m always working to figure out a way to find a solution to win.”
Bartoli will need to harness that intelligence as she joins a stellar list of world class players when play gets underway on 18th February.
Opponents will include world number one and Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, 2012 Wimbledon, Olympic and US Open champion Serena Williams, Dubai defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, 2011 Dubai winner Caroline Wozniacki, 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2011 US Open winner Samantha Stosur.
The WTA event will be followed by the ATP World Tour event commencing on 25 February and which will feature world number 1 Novak Djokovic, defending champion Roger Federer, as well as top 10 rivals Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Janko Tipsarevic.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which takes place from 18th February to 2nd March, is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Tickets for the event are on sale from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which is open from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand ticket prices range from 50dhs for opening rounds to 450dhs for finals, with season tickets also available.
For further information about tickets, prices and the tournament phone the call centre on +971 4 4172415.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Feb 14, 2013
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