Welcome to www.marion-bartoli.net


Szavay Battles Through To The Quarter Finals

After two hours and five minutes of close, hard fought tennis Agnes Szavay advanced to the quarter finals with a 7-5 7-5 victory. For Marion, it was a case of a missed opportunity at set point in the first set but she also dug deep and can take some positives from this most tense of battles against an accomplished clay courter.

Although the first set was eventually Szavay's it was Marion who started the brightest, racing to a 2-0 lead behind perfect first serves and powerful returns. But in the third game, Marion's second serve caused some problems and Szavay broke back for 2-1 and then held for 2-2. In the fifth game Marion's first serve was back helping take a 3-2 lead. This quickly became a 4-2 lead with all the pressure on Szavay. Then in the seventh nailbiting game Marion overcame two double faults to consolidate into a 5-2 lead. With Szavay on the backfoot Marion was oh so close to securing the set having 30-40 on Szavay's serve. But the set point came and went and Szavay held her nerve to make it 5-3. Unfortunately for Marion it was soon 5-4 as Szavay broke to stay in the set and then held comfortably to 15 to make it 5-5. Marion stayed strong though and had two game points to make it 6-5. But somehow Szavay fought back to deuce, Marion made a double fault and the game went to the Hungarian. 5-6. A couple of moments later it was 5-7.

With the first set point now a distant memory Marion was quickly 0-2 down in the second set. But with the match nearing an hour and a half in length, Marion was not finished. She held for 1-2 and then fought hard in the next, breaking after a couple of deuces. 2-2. Suddenly it was Marion in charge as she quickly made it 3-2 and took full advantage of a double fault from Szavay to make it 4-2. But a double fault from Marion in the next game helped Szavay come right back to make it 4-3. In the next game Marion had 0-30 and then 30-40 on her opponent's serve but didn't secure the break so it was all level at 4-4. With her lead gone, Marion showed her fighting spirit and after a long series of deuces held for 5-4. Szavay held her serve more comfortably to make it 5-5. Unfortunately in the next, this time Marion didn't win another long series of deuces and so it was 5-6 and Szavay serving for the set. Despite battling in to the end it finished 5-7 5-7.

So a glance at the final score shows how close and hard fought the match really was. Marion's serving perrcentages were great at the beginning of the match but overall down on the second round victory and today both players struggled to win many points behind their second serve. After coming out all guns blazing in the first set, leading 5-2 and having a set point only to relinquish the set 5-7 one can't help feel a tinge of disappointment, but there were encouraging signs today, hats off to Marion for all her hard work.

R16 Preview: Marion vs Agnes Szavay

Marion will be in third round action later today against the Hungarian player Agnes Szavay. The match is scheduled for third on Court 1 and it promises to be a tough match up with Szavay in form and a formidable opponent on clay.

While Marion made her own impressive start on Monday, yesterday Szavay continued her clay court form by blowing away Z.Yan 6-1 6-1 in just 59 minutes. The Hungarian has already showed her abilities on clay this season by making the quater finals at both Amelia Island and Charleston. And as a more general indication of her prowess on clay, Szavay's  all time record on the surface stands at 71 wins and only 26 losses.

But ahead of this challenge, Marion should be brimming with confidence after her impressive second round victory. Hopefully Marion can build on the positives from that victory and put in another impressive performance to take her into the quarter finals. With play starting at 11am on Court 1, the match should start around 2.30-3.30 in the afternoon. Allez Marion!