WIMBLEDON, England - Marion Bartoli said her Wimbledon women's final would be a battle of nerves. She dominated that battle, then she won the match.
Bartoli, the 28-year-old from France, captured her first Grand Slam championship Saturday, 6-1, 6-4, over Sabine Lisicki.
There are so many ways to count how long Bartoli had waited for this moment. She was competing in her 47th Grand Slam event, the most of any champion before winning her first title. She reached her first Grand Slam final here six years ago, but did not reach another one until Saturday. She had not won a tournament of any kind since 2011.
Bartoli counted all the way back to when she was 6, and she was taught the game by her father, Walter, who was her coach until earlier this year.
'Holding this trophy has been my dream since I was 6 years old,' Bartoli said, clutching the Venus Rosewater Dish during a postmatch interview with the BBC.
The No. 15 seed, Bartoli is the first player to win the Wimbledon title without beating a top-10 seed and only the third player seeded outside the top 10 to win Wimbledon in the open era.
She also is the first woman to win Wimbledon playing two-handed on both sides. Not even the player she was modeled after, Monica Seles, was a winner here.
Lisicki, the 23-year-old No. 23 seed from Germany, was in her first Grand Slam final, and it seemed both players were nervous at the start. Bartoli double faulted to give Lisicki a break in the first game, but Lisicki gave it right back. She double faulted on break point, too, with a terrible toss, which plagued her throughout the match.
It was just the beginning of an erratic performance by Lisicki, who won the hearts of the British crowds beginning with her upset of No. 1 Serena Williams in the fourth round.
She was broken two more times in the first set, airmailing ground strokes and missing serves, her biggest strength.
Bartoli, on the other hand, was laser-focused and hitting laser shots, crushing backhands that caused the crowd to go 'ooooooh.'
But Lisicki had been in holes before, down a break in the third sets against both Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals. The Centre Court crowd was subdued with its favorite in trouble. The fans tried to rouse her as she won the opening game of the set.
Still, Bartoli would not let Lisicki in. She saved four break points in the second game of the set, then broke Lisicki in the next game.
At this point Lisicki's emotions got the best of her. Serving at 1-3, Lisicki started laughing when she had another bad toss. But after two double faults, Lisicki was covering her face with her racket, in tears. Bartoli broke her again to go up 4-1, a second break she would need.
'I'm overwhelmed by the whole situation,' Lisicki said. 'Credit to Marion. She's been in this situation before and she handled it so well.'
Lisicki started to come back, saving three match points and then breaking Bartoli to get to 3-5.
But the second time Bartoli served for the championship, she would not let it go. She held at love, closing, surprisingly, with an ace.
'To become Wimbledon champion with ace I couldn't have dreamed it,' Bartoli said. 'Been practicing my serve so long. I saved it for best moment.'
After the handshakes, Bartoli ran to her box and climbed in to hug her father, who had come to the tournament for the final.
However heartbreaking their split was, a fresh perspective provided by a team from the French tennis federation has lifted Bartoli to new heights.
Amélie Mauresmo, the Wimbledon champion in 2006, has been her adviser. Bartoli said Mauresmo had helped her most dealing with stress and energy off the court. She said she had been wasting too much energy being too focused on matches before getting on court.
'She's really helping me to just cool down when I'm off the court, have some great time, have some fun, and just be really focused maybe 15, 20 minutes before going on court,' Bartoli said Friday.
She found a memorable way repay Mauresmo, whose birthday was Friday.
'Happy birthday, girl,' said Bartoli, holding up her trophy.
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