I’d seen Bartoli play at Indian Wells back in 2011. It was a 3rd Round Slug-Fest with
Petkovic. I sat on a front row bench
right next to Dr. Bartoli, and I can confirm that while he looked like a
nervous wreck, there were no signs of coaching.
I liked both players, and they were both hitting the crap out of the
ball, but Marion was hitting harder, and with more accuracy, and she won the
match in straight sets. (Petkovic won three
out of the four matches they played in 2011.)
Two years later, late into a hot spring day in Indian Wells,
my lawyer friend and I walked over to see Bartoli practice with her new coach –
The High Priestess of Wimbledon Redemption – Jana Novotna. There was another
skirt on court with them, she was doing most of the coaching, and a
collage-aged guy trading groundstrokes with Bartoli.
My friend and I sat in the first row and watched as Bartoli launch
her entire body into every groundstroke: 100 percent, every shot. She truly is a force of nature & stunning to
watch. And soon, she noticed that I was
watching her. When she cracked a shot the college dude couldn’t get over the
net, I would jump in as the third coach, and say, “Good shot, Marion.” She nodded my way a few times. But there was work to do, and she’d only been
with Novotna for a few days, so I had to defer.
Marion was soaking wet at the end of the practice
session. She thanked the kid that hit
with her and she cheated a glance over to the stands. I stood up and said, “Good hitting,
Marion. This is your year.” She smiled – and possibly pushed the ladies
up and out just a bit – and said, “Thank you.”
She waved to me and walked away.
She lost her match at Indian Wells that night and Novotna was
gone within a few days. But Marion
persevered and she found her destiny at Wimbledon a few months later: The
Ladies Singles Champion. She deserved
it. And I’d like to think I had a little
bit to do with that.
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