Williams queen of SW19

But they have one significant thing in common. When they were young girls both their fathers brought them to the game, reckoned that anyone could do it, taught themselves how to coach, and inspired their daughters to an uncommon level of self-belief.

Richard Williams brought up Venus and her sisters in Los Angeles; Walter Bartoli brought up Marion near Le Puy in the Massif Central, a region of volcanoes. Neither wanted to know about the tennis systems in their countries, or about classic style.

Finding a way, any way, to get the ball in court again and again was their purpose. As a way of winning, it works.

Bartoli's father, a doctor with a passion for chess, gave up his practice in St Etienne to devote himself to his daughter's tennis career. Like Williams père, he has been her only coach. "My dad always believed in me," Bartoli said. "To see in the eyes of your parents that you can be one of the best gives you so much confidence, you're able to take on the world."

Monsieur Batroli used unorthodox methods, such as sticking tennis balls to the arches of Marion's feet so that she would always be on her toes. In the winter, she trained indoors in a small hall. There was a wall just behind the baseline which meant that she had to stand inside the court to receive service. She still does that today, and it unsettles opponents who find the ball coming back faster than expected.

Ambidextrous, signing her autograph with her left hand, serving with the right and hitting groundstrokes with both, Bartoli is certainly peculiar. And although she has much to offer in fortitude and guile, it has to be said that she doesn't look like a tennis player at all, at least not a modern one. She is rather dumpy and has to scramble rather than run and she hits on both wings with two hands, as if each shot is made with the back of a frying-pan. That was learnt from Monica Seles. But it is her service action and the strange antics that precede it that really raise the eyebrows.

First she receives the balls from the ball-boys, jumping on the spot like a nervous squirrel. She walks to the baseline and steps up to it nervously, as if approaching the end of the high diving board. She grips the end of the racket as if she is trying to remember what to do in some sequence not properly learnt; she holds the ball close - again like a squirrel, but with a nut - and then launches it before awkwardly reaching up to give it a good biff.

Then there is her rather engaging stroke rehearsal. Between points, and especially before an important one, she retires to the back of the court, faces the stop-netting and swishes madly, trying to remember what to do next.

Quite what such former great champions as Maria Bueno, Billie-Jean King and Martina Navratilova made of it all in the Royal Box, one had to wonder. Even Princess Michael, wearing a lampshade to ward off the sun, seemed nonplussed. Martina spent some time in animated conversation with Bjorn Borg, perhaps discussing Bartoli's service action.

But this was not the St Trini-ans' intermediate final, it was the Wimbledon singles. So how did she get there? By being awkward and unorthodox; by having terrific hand-eye coordination; and by court craft. If you hit double-handed on both sides and you're not very fast, you have to know where to go. You also have to know instinctively where your opponent least wants to go. Bartoli has all that. She disproves the notion that the modern game is all about mechanics and athleticism. The greatest virtue in tennis, and the most overlooked, is smartness.

There is a precedent for Bartoli, and a French one. In the 1960s, Francoise Durr was somehow able to rub shoulders with the best in the world despite a vicarage-garden service-action and strokes that were pokes at the ball. But she was clever. She won the French Open singles title and made it to six Wimbledon women's doubles finals, all of which she lost.

Despite her splendid progress at this year's Championships, and her place just inside the world's top 20 at the age of 22, the likelihood must be that Bartoli's career will be no grander than Durr's, which would in any case be a kind of triumph.

At the very beginning, there was a fear that Bartoli would be overwhelmed. She lost the first three games and seemed out-gunned and at a loss. There was polite applause whenever she managed to win a point. But that had been the case against Henin as well, when she went down a set and a break before finding inspiration in the presence of Pierce Brosnan in the Royal Box.

For a sweet interlude, it looked like it could happen again, as Bartoli began to handle the pace of Williams's raking shots and won three games in a row to level. That had Williams shaking her head, just as Henin had done, but she soon gathered herself again.

"I did a pretty good job overall," Bartoli said. "I did not lose because of nerves. But Venus played unbelievable tennis. I can't see any player beating her when she plays like this on grass. It's just not possible. She's just too good."

Bartoli fought hard all the way. She explained that she wanted to win so she could go to the ball, wear the dress and dance with the men's champion. But midnight came for Cin-derella. On the day, and against a fine champion on form, Bartoli's performance and touching display of individuality was not nearly enough to win. But it will long be remembered.

Star sisters

The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam titles between them, with Venus winning six and Serena eight

Venus Williams Wimbledon (4) US Open (2)

Serena Williams Australian Open (3) French Open (1) Wimbledon (2) US Open (2)

Wimbledon titles 9 Martina Navratilova 8 Helen Wills Moody 7 Steffi Graf 6 Billie Jean King 6 Suzanne Lenglen 5 Lotie Dod 4 Dorothea Chambers 4 Venus Williams

- Marion Bartoli was seeded 18th for Wimbledon. She has won only three Tour events in her career. This was her fi fth visit to Wimbledon and she had won only four matches