Marion Bartoli Starts Slowly At The Beginning Of The Clay Season

Written by: Staff on 1st May 2013

Marion Bartoli Starts Slowly At The Beginning Of The Clay Season

epa03682357 French tennis player Marion Bartoli returns the ball to her Chinese opponent Shuai Peng during their match of the Portugal Open held in the Jamor complex, onthe outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal, 30 April 2013. EPA/TIAGO PETINGA |

Marion Bartoli ìs back on the practice courts after her spring clay debut was marred by a first-round loss to China’s Peng Shuai at the Portugal Open. The quirky Frenchwoman, 2007 Wimbledon finalist. went down in three sets but is not yet hitting the panic button.

“The first match on clay is always tough for me,” said Bartoli. “I had a lot of trouble finding my game and my feet on the court. She was playing extremely well. I just tried my hardest and was able to play some good shots in the second set. I felt like the third was really close.

“It was a very difficult draw, but I think it is better for me to have those kind of matches early in the clay court season and try to improve for the big events coming up.”

Bartoli will try to regroup from this weekend in Madrid, site of the ATP-WTA Masters. “Clay for me is really a surface that I need to spend time on, unlike that of hard courts which come a lot more easy. I was able to do well at Roland Garros in 2011 and I didn’t start the clay court season well.

“This good form came out after playing a lot of matches, practicing a lot, so hopefully I will be able to do the same this year, but I’m just taking it one match at a time and I don’t want to put any pressure on myself.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: clay tennis news, French tennis news, Marion Bartoli, Peng Shuai, Portugal Open, Tennis News