Bartoli hammers Bammer with Eastbourne super show

Too good: Marion Bartoli won in under an hour

But Bartoli emphatically showed that if she can stay healthy she will again be
a force at Wimbledon, allowing Bammer, the world number 27, just three games in
a one-sided encounter on Devonshire Park's windy Centre Court.

Bartoli, the second seed at Eastbourne, said: "I've had almost every problem
this year - my knee, my back, my Achilles and my wrist. It has been really
frustrating because I am so competitive that I want to win every match.

"And going on to the court feeling that your body is likely to break down is a
really a big worry - a heart-breaker.

"I was upset about losing so badly right at the start in my own country. And
after Birmingham I thought I might have to pull out of Eastbourne.

"But this week everything seems to have come right. I feel really good, I'm
feeling the ball well and the strong winds here don't worry me because I come
from a place in France where you get used to it.

"Last year was fantastic for me at Wimbledon and I don't know what it is, but
maybe it's the thought of going back again next week that has inspired me. I
played really great today."

Bartoli, 23, who lost to Venus Williams in last year's SW19 final after coming
back from a set down in her three previous matches, did not need quite so much
of that fighting spirit at Eastbourne but the clinical manner in which she
dismissed the talented Bammer was a warning to all that she is back on form.

And maybe Russian top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the world number five, took
fright at Bartoli's performance. She trailed Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki
2-6 0-3 in the second match on Centre Court.