Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli has taken to catching a quick nap before her matches, waking up instantly and ready to go onto court.
The quirky Frenchwoman, whose training sessions utilise various elasticised bands and other contraptions strapped to her body which give it all the look of bondage gear, is catching her 40 winks at Wimbledon whenever and wherever.
Prior to her semi-final success over Kirsten Flipkens which put her into a second career final on the lawns, Bartoli, 28, had a quick kip in the changing rooms.
She didn’t even need anyone to wake her either. “I actually woke up by myself at 12:30 and I went to a warm-up at 12:40. That’s just the way I am,” she added. The hyperactive player’s practise swings and hopping rituals often make her seem like a constantly moving wind-up toy in between points.
“I needed a quick nap just to recover from my early morning practise and everything I had to do, to be ready to go on court,” she explained. “It was just a quick nap of 15-20 minutes. So far it’s working extremely well. I don’t see why I should change.”
Bartoli said that a nap isn’t mandatory, but is nice if she can manage. “It’s really more about how I’m feeling. If I’m feeling great, that I don’t feel I need a nap, then I will not sleep. But if I do feel like I need one, it’s not a problem for me to sleep and come back and be ready.”
The Geneva-based Frenchwoman put rest to rumours that she will even stretch out on the ground if necessary. “I’m never really up for sleeping on the floor. It’s the lady members’ dressing room in Wimbledon, so you can have a sofa to sleep on.”
