Marion Bartoli has officially won Wimbledon 2013. Ms. Bartoli and her father, who served as her childhood coach, spoke to the press.
Marion Bartoli, the 28-year-old victor, destroyed the competition at Wimbledon. Finishing first put the tennis player at the number seven position on the WTA Rankings, which is the highest position she has ever held.
One person in the audience cheered louder than all others. That voice belonged to her father, Walter Bartoli. When Marion was just 6-years-old, Walter began instructing her on tennis...even though it was a game he never played. Marion told the press that, “to share this moment with my dad was absolutely amazing and I'm so proud of it."
She wasn’t the only one willing to comment to the press. Walter was happy to dicuss his involvement in Marion’s career, telling them:
"When she was a little girl, on Sundays, she wanted to eat cookies, but I kept telling her that if she wanted to win Wimbledon one day, she had to play two more points before lunch, and as long as she did not win those two extra points, she was not allowed to eat cookies. She was 13 or 14, but I'm sure it had an effect on her."
Her past coach went on to describe her unusual two handed approach and how they developed it:
"I told her to try with both hands and, after just a couple of hours of practice, it was better. So we decided to keep working on it this way. The fact that she plays with two hands on both sides gives her a big advantage, because she can hit the ball earlier. That's the key."
