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| Marion Bartoli of France in action against Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia during the women’s singles match of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament in Perth, Australia yesterday. Bartoli won 6-0, 6-0. (EPA |
French star Marion Bartoli reduced her opponent to tears as she demolished Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova without dropping a game at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Western Australia yesterday.
The ninth-ranked Bartoli, beaten by world number five Li Na in her first singles match here on Saturday, slaughtered a misfiring Gajdosova 6-0, 6-0 in just 52 minutes as France beat the host nation 3-0.
Gajdosova, ranked 33rd in the world, looked increasingly disconsolate as the match wore on and was in tears in the dying stages as her own game fell apart and Bartoli hit winner after winner.
It was only the third time in the 24-year history of the tournament that a player had suffered a “double bagel” defeat in singles.
The previous victim was fellow Australian Liz Smylie in 1991, who happened to be commentating Tuesday’s lopsided match for the host broadcaster.
The Frenchwoman was apologetic after the match and said she felt for Gajdosova.
“I’m sorry I beat her that way but I was just focusing on my own game and not looking at the scoreboard,” Bartoli said.
“She’s so talented and she’s a lovely lady and when I saw her in tears it was really heartbreaking.
“But I can’t really miss a shot just for (the sake of) missing the shot.
“I’m sure she has a great future.”
Richard Gasquet then secured the tie for the French with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over Lleyton Hewitt.
Bartoli’s dominant performance franked the form of China’s Li, who earlier showed she had put her post-French Open slump firmly behind her with a commanding win over Spain’s Annabel Medina Garrigues.
Having come from a set down to dispose of Bartoli, the world number five lived up to her claim after that win that she was “back” by thrashing the 27th-ranked Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-1 despite China losing the tie to the Spanish 2-1 and bowing out of Hopman Cup contention.
Li, 29, said an intensive off-season training regime in Munich had helped her rebound from a disappointing finish to 2011.
“After winter training I was feeling better for the season,” she said.
“After French Open I didn’t do well.
“I had four weeks (in Munich), no photo shoots, no interviews, just very tough training.
“Mostly for fitness, I want to keep healthy for whole season, I am not young any more and do not have time to waste.
“I have to focus on every tournament and every second and that is why I stayed in Munich for such a long time.”
Li had not beaten Medina Garrigues in four previous meetings, but she completely dismantled the Spaniard in an impressive performance ahead of this month’s Australian Open.
Medina Garrigues couldn’t counter the consistently brilliant groundstrokes of Li, who hit 18 forehand winners.
Unfortunately for Li, the win over Medina Garrigues was not enough to help the Chinese beat the Spanish, with Fernando Verdasco beating Li’s team-mate Wu Di in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to level the tie, before the Spanish claimed the tie with an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 win in the deciding mixed doubles.
The winner of the tie between France and Spain tomorrow will advance to Saturday’s final.