You know who I feel sorry for? People who don’t get Marion Bartoli.
Caption this. No seriously, please caption it, Twitter. RT @ByJoeFleming Marion levitates (AFP) pic.twitter.com/NruByRE6tW
— SI Tennis (@SI_Tennis) May 28, 2013
Today, The Genius played a three hour and 12 minute match in front of her hometown crowd at Roland Garros, finally winning 7-6(8) 4-6 7-5 over an inspired Olga Govortsova. She saved two match points, came back from the brink in two sets, and was just generally badass.
Was it the most beautiful tennis in the world? No. But if you’re just into tennis for the aesthetics then switch to ballet. Sports is about competing, and Marion Bartoli COMPETES.
Of course, this time by competing she DARED to keep fans and journalists from being blessed with the presence of the World No. 1. This led Reuters to give this headline:
And our favorite journalist Barry Flatman to tweet this:
Bartoli finally wins. That 3 hrs 12 minutes of our lives we'll never get back again.
— Barry Flatman (@Barry_FlatmanST) May 28, 2013
UGH. I don’t even want to get into what sexist, misogynistic bullshit that is, or how that would never be said about a male player keeping a female player off of the “stage.” I don’t want to get into the ridiculous way the mainstream media always talks about Bartoli, who dares to not fit into the prepackaged, easy-to-market, Sugarpovaed box.
I don’t want to turn this whole post into a rant. I just want to talk about how fucking awesome Marion Bartoli is.
In the past I’ve described her as the tennis version of performance art, or the human version of a GIF. Today while watching her, I couldn’t stop thinking about duct tape–her game and style are patchworked together, but durable. It’s so wrong that it’s … well, not quite right, but close enough.
She also just happens to have one of the best Wikipedia pages ever:
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 and Monica Seles. 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 although there isn’t any evidence of this being a fact.
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.
Wikipedia is right. She never starts moving, twitching, swinging, hopping, fidgeting, thinking. She never stops competing, even when nothing is going her way.
That’s a good thing, by the way. A great thing, actually. She never gives up on a tennis match. We should be praising that, not condemning it.
Plus, in a tennis world that is becoming alarmingly uniform and cookie-cutter, Bartoli matches are must-see theatre. They’re an experience that make you question everything you know and love about the sport of tennis. Sometimes they’re painful, sometimes they’re confusing, sometimes they’re inspiring, but they’re NEVER boring.
Watching Marion Bartoli play is like watching a psychological thriller unfold. Agonising but compelling.
— Andrew Castle (@AndrewCastle63) May 28, 2013
I know it's rude to stare, but staff and I can't stop looking at Bartoli's serving motion #fixated
— Not Roger Federer (Parody) (@PseudoFed) May 28, 2013
I asked Twitter folks to provide me with their favorite Marion GIFs and matches and memories, and they did not disappoint:
@linzsports Wasn't it her at Hopman Cup when she was full on fist pump her bagel over her opponent? Can't remember who she played though.
— Tony (@tjc05) May 28, 2013
@rosso_neri @linzsports YEAH! That's right classic. Also at the USO, when she was rifling winners past McHale (?)….during the warm up!
— Tony (@tjc05) May 28, 2013
@linzsports The one time she decided enough is enough and banished poor mad Walter out of her box: http://t.co/vUMeMkHiRM
— René (@Renestance) May 28, 2013
@linzsports The one time when she tried to distract JJ by stealing her towel: stream1.gifsoup.com/view2/1206220/…
— René (@Renestance) May 28, 2013
@linzsports Forcing her parents to leave her match during Wimbledon 2011 was pretty great.
— Ellen (@_supertiebreak) May 28, 2013
@linzsports Did you know there's an entire thread on TF dedicated to her awesomeness? http://t.co/d4tTGcurvP
— Harry (@_harry91) May 28, 2013
@linzsports 2007 Linz. Wimbledon Semi. Justine Henin, Pierce Brosnan. Marion wins. =)
— Phaura Reinz (@PhauraReinz) May 28, 2013
@linzsports #neverforget http://t.co/7Sm06wU0ob
— Victoria (@unseededlooming) May 28, 2013
@linzsports Oh and 'how to incorporate the iron barge pole into on-court practise' http://t.co/erqfM3HvAT (ok, I'll stop now, that's enough)
— René (@Renestance) May 28, 2013
HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER?
She’s into the second round of the French Open right now and she really shouldn’t be. She wasn’t playing that well today. Olga Govortsova played the match of her life. The weather sucked. Bartoli has had a really rough year–rumor has it her parents are divorcing–and she’s been on the coaching carousel from hell as she tries to separate from her father. She’s been in a slump all year.
She had a lot of excuses not to win this match. She would have been forgiven. But that’s not Marion Bartoli’s style.
Keep being you, Marion. Keep twitching. Keep competing. Keep hogging that stage. We’ll be watching.
This is brilliant. I can’t believe how her opponent had more support even from the French crowd. She’s one of the most gutsy players out there on either tour. She should be cherished
Oh British journos, come for the Andy Murray updates, stay for the constant misogyny/complaining.
Thank you! I loved this. Marion wins one for the quirky girls. She is one tough cookie. (I can’t believe what Martina and Mary were saying today about Marion working out for two hours prior to a match! No wonder she looks so exhausted from the first ball. There is always a part of me that wants to hand her a couple of barrettes just to help her keep her hair off her face, but mostly I just love how she beats the ball.
I adore her. She seems to live or die with each point.
I just wish she’d srart to win some matches !
I made a scrapbook of my shots so far…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagoo/sets/72157632154514203/
She’s My Star
It may have been the French Open last year when on one of the changeovers Marion took a full sized can of hairspray from her bag and proceeded to fix her hair in place (it was windy). Made me chuckle
I love this weirdo. Rant on!
Vive la Bartoli!
I really dislike Bartoli and find her playing style and on-court antics annoying at best…BUT…it is rude, crass and typically British-commentator (even when its not the Brits doing it, strangely) to claim she was “hogging” the stage or to imply everyone just wanted her to get off the court so Novak could play. Even in the unlikely event that Bartoli was stealing the spotlight, or even that everyone would rather see Novak play (also a question, obviously) – it is distasteful and disrespectful for such headlines to exist at all.
I also don’t like Murray’s game much but I enjoy his tweeting now (classic!) and I’m pretty sure no one, especially the Brits, would EVER claim Murray was “hogging the stage”
I just saw the double entendre there, hog-hogging. Wow, that’s pretty insulting actually.
I absolutely love Marion Bartoli and this 1st round match at Roland Garros was classic Bartoli. All that fist pumping, all that constant moving around, coming in bravely on her opponent’s serve, never ever giving up despite only flashes of her best tennis. She is simply my favourite player to watch, pure theatre every time she plays. You can never be confident she will win but she will always try very hard, never stopping for a moment even when sitting down. Just brilliant and I am still on a high from her performance yesterday.
I find Bartoli highly entertaining. A quirky personality for sure, and she can really dial it in at times so you never know what to expect with her matches.
My favourite Bartoli memory is Wimbledon 2007 when she got inspired 007 Pierce Brosnan in the stands and proceeded to defeat Henin.
http://tinyurl.com/om5pxrp
I’m loving this. If I were Marion, I’d probably cry reading this. Thank you for standing up for a fun, fearless female. (Yep, up your ass, Cosmo.)
A few years ago, when the WTA had that “Are You Looking For a Hero?” campaign, the Bartoli fan site’s headline was “Are You Looking For a (Cult) Hero?”!
Marion is the best theatre in women’s tennis. I never get tired of watching her. She’s also a very pleasant and highly articulate woman.
Thank you for this one. I adore Bartoli for every little and grand thing that was listed in this post, that Reuter’s piece was a disgrace. One thing I’d like to comment on though:
‘HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER?’
Let me be clear first: I’m not picking on a line here but reacting to a certain trend I keep seeing on Twitter, forums etc. We often ask this kind of a question (I did it myself – jokingly – yesterday, hence my musings): ‘How can you not love / admire / respect player X or player’s Y’s professionalism or player’s Z humility etc., etc.?’ For me, a quick answer would be: yes, you can. There are few things more difficult than changing the way people feel towards others, not only within tennis fandom, it applies to art, relationships, you name it. Sometimes it’s not possible because we love to defend our opinion and so our egos get in the way of any meaningful exchange of ideas. Sometimes though it’s our personality that simply doesn’t allow us to enjoy something that clearly brings others pleasure, as our taste is very different. Should convincing anyone be a goal in situations like this? If we can have a civil and empathic conversation that possibly ends in us seeing, understanding, different points of view, I call it a success, because it means learning something. There is still this ancient question ‘What is truth?’, hovering in the back of my mind, but looking for an answer, rather than necessarily finding it, is really rewarding.
No apology needed for this rant, or for shortening it, either. Spot on in every regard. Bartoli’s great, and anyone who doesn’t see that is a dinglehead. (It’d be mean to use a more violent term, and uncalled for. My sister coined dinglehead, and I think it’s really good, and fits.)
Yes, the fidgeting is unique(-ish, water bottles and knicker-picking anyone?), but as regards her technique and form, I never heard anyone claim that Seles’ similar, two-handed style and movement reminded them of Dame Margot Fonteyn, either. I guess winning big keeps those snarky comments at bay.
What else is new?