How surprised was I when I woke up this morning and read that Marion Bartoli had retired in the CommonwealthBank Tournament of Champions final in Bali?
Not at all.
This is the story of Bartoli's career--get some momentum, and then sustain an injury. In this case, it was her thigh, which began troubling her toward the end of the first set. Rezai won that set 7-5, and then Bartoli retired. I have written extensively for a long time about Bartoli's injury problems, so I won't address that issue here.
Aravane Rezai is a player who has endured some unpleasant times on the tour. She survived those times, and it is really nice to see her win a title that carries some prestige. Rezai is a big hitter, and this has been a really good season for her. She won her first tour title in Strassbourg, and she also reached the round of 16 at the French Open.
2 comments:
I was disappointed in Bartoli. I generally like her but she seems to have a lot of injury problems as you have said. Is she not training properly or is she accident prone or is she not gutting it out? Her coach-dad is a doctor, you'd think he would be able to figure out the physical/or mental to help her. This was a big tournament and I thought she would push through. Too bad. Good for Rezai for getting through the tournament undefeated.
For years, Sunny, my educated guess has been--and continues to be--that Marion's coach puts her through training regimens that, while helpful, go over the line and make her vulnerable to injury.
I could be wrong, and of course, there is probably more than one reason. But having someone train for an hour and half right before a match sounds like a formula for injury development.
Post a Comment