Marion Bartoli wins Wimbledon women's singles title

London, July 6: France's Marion Bartoli, 28, became the fifth oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title after she defeated Germany's Sabine Lisicki in a one-sided final in the Wimbledon championship on Saturday. Fifteenth seed Bartoli, who won 6-1, 6-4, played her second Wimbledon final after six years. In 2007, she had lost to USA's Venus Williams. It was the end of an agonising wait for Bartoli.

Bartoli also surpassed Jana Novotna's record of winning the first major title after the most number of Grand Slam appearances. Bartoli won her maiden major title in the 47th appearance while Novotna had won the Wimbledon in 1998 after 45 appearances.

Bartoli, who didn't drop a single set in her seven matches in this year's edition, became the first Frenchwoman to win a Grand Slam after seven years. Amelie Mauresmo had won it in 2006. Coincidentally, Mauresmo had played a key role behind Bartoli remarkable recovery in her downward moving career over the last few months.

On the other hand, Lisicki, the 23-year-old German giant killer in this year's Wimbledon and seeded 23rd, broke down in tears as the match slipped away in the second set. She was the first German woman to reach the Wimbledon final since Steffi Graf in 1999.

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