Return Winners: The 2011 WTA Indian Wells final

Caroline Wozniacki and Marion Bartoli battled for the title in the desert.

Published Mar 10, 2019

This year, Caroline Wozniacki lost her opening round in Indian Wells, but in 2011, she found a lot more success in the desert.

A rapid ascent up the rankings over her short career culminated with Wozniacki clinching the year-end top spot in the standings in 2010 on the strength of six titles. Her 2011 season got off to a strong start with a semifinal finish at the Australian Open and her first tournament triumph of the year in Dubai.

When the WTA Tour hit Indian Wells the solid play continued for the world No. 1 as she reached the championship match, dropping only one set along the way. In the final, she would face an unexpected challenger: the 15th seed, Marion Bartoli, who was in good form throughout the course of the tournament.

Having just defeated Bartoli in the semifinals of Doha, by a 6-1, 6-1 scoreline and never dropping a set to her on a hard court, Wozniacki demonstrated from the start that she knew how to keep her opponent off-balance. The top seed won her third consecutive set against Bartoli by a 6-1 marker.

However, the former Wimbledon finalist wasn’t ready to cede victory to her opponent. Firing her two-handed strokes off of both sides, Bartoli leveled the match by taking the second set 6-2. In the decider, the two stayed even early, but Wozniacki—as was her custom—wore down her opponent with her consistency. As Bartoli tried to serve to stay in the match down 3-5, two unforced errors from 30-all ended her chances, enabling Wozniacki to clinch her second title of the year.

This was the first Premier Mandatory final of Bartoli’s career.

Wozniacki’s title marked the fourth consecutive year she won two or more tournaments in a season. This was the earliest point in the year she accomplished the feat.

The five prior tournaments Wozniacki won all came against Russian opponents. Her last title won against a non-Russian opponent was at her home event, the Danish Open, in August 2010 against Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias

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Return Winners: The 2011 WTA Indian Wells final

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Return Winners: The 2011 WTA Indian Wells final