If you think Marion Bartoli is putting on an act with her bouncing, shuffling and other eccentricities before she receives serve, watch her the next time she receives a ball from a ball boy: She does pretty much the same thing.
Bartoli has gotten to where she's at with her quirks, not in spite of them. Her two-handed forehand is struck pretty flat and accurate, and she can hit a strong serve with a fairly funky delivery. And then there's her receiving routine. Almost every player has a deliberate series of motions before they serve, but few do something similar—or at least, as outwardly as Bartoli—before they return.
I wonder if that had anything to do with Yanina Wickmayer's lackluster first set today, which she lost 6-1. Much like the 2009 U.S. Open, Wickmayer quietly reached the semifinals of a prestigious tournament and was outplayed in the final four. The Belgian is at her best when she's forceful and using her strokes to move her opponent around. But too often today it was Bartoli who dictated play; we saw only sporadic signs of what Wickmayer can do so well.
It appeared that Wickmayer had mentally checked out when the opening-set onslaught was over—she didn't utter a word to her coach during their pow-wow, and was solemnly muttering away once the next set began. It started poorly for her, as Bartoli raced to 40-0 on her serve.
But strangely, it was at this point when Bartoli showed cracks. She promptly hit three double-faults to lose her sizable lead, then doubled again a few minutes later to drop the multi-deuce game. Nevertheless, Wickmayer, given new life, failed to embrace the challenge. She was miles better in the second set, but always had difficulty serving; she was broken five times in all. Bartoli wasn't too much better—when serving for the match, she fell behind 0-40 and needed a brain cramp from Wickmayer to avoid going back on serve. It was the last chance Bartoli offered her opponent; the final was 6-1, 6-3, and Bartoli is into the Indian Wells final.
Last year it was Ivan Ljubicic who surprised everyone by winning it all—will there be a substantial surprise on the women's side this year?
—Ed McGrogan