Tomorrow's Wimbledon Ladies Final will be fought out between two of the least popular members of the locker room after Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli won their big matches on Centre Court yesterday.
Lisicki's opponent Agnieszka Radwanksa could scarcely bear to shake hands after their 2hr 40mins marathon and left the arena abruptly.
Apparently Lisicki, 23, who has won over the Centre Court crowds with her stunning smiles and huge shots, is regarded as a drama queen who feigns injury and uses histrionics to confuse and put off her opponents.
Bartoli, who claims an IQ of 175, has always been something of a lone wolf. She irritates her opponents by dancing around the baseline and practising her double handed forehand and backhand, jumping up and down and keeping them waiting to serve. At 28 she has ditched her father Walter as her coach and now has the likes of former champion Amelie Mauresmo among her support team.
Whatever her rivals think of Lisicki she has a huge game and has now beaten top tenners such as Sam Stosur, Serena Williams and now Radwanska. Once thought of as a little flakey she now possesses the resolve of champions as she showed yesterday when 3-0 down in the final set.
Lisicki, although German, is of Polish origin. But that didn't seem to warm the atmosphere which sizzled with mutual dislike and frustration as net cord after net cord favoured first one and then other during the riveting 6-4, 2-6 9-7 match.
Lisicki can go walkabout, a bit like the wonderful Australian champion Yvonne Goolagong of years gone by. From three one up in the second set she lost six games in a row to go three love down in the final set. But she regained her composure and actually served for victory at 5-4 up.
It was then that Radwanska started to produce the wonderful ground shots and returns of serve for which she is rightly noted. The catfight continued until 7-7 when Lisicki again broke Radwanska's relatively tame serve with massive returns.
This time Lisicki wasted little time in serving out the match to love before prostrating herself on the Centre Court's green baize. This also irritated Radwanska, who could barely look at her opponent during the cursory handshake. She was off the court in a matter of seconds.
Afterwards Radwanska said; "What could I do - just be there and dance? I didn't feel like it at that point. I would rather play badly and win the match than lose after that one."
For Lisicki it is a first Grand Slam Final at her favourite tournament. She is likely to be the crowd's pet tomorrow and is greatly looking forward to the occasion as the first German to do so since the glory days of Steffi Graf who sent her a text before yesterday's match.
She said; "She wished me luck and told me to go for it. I am just so happy. It's an amazing feeling to reach the Wimbledon Final. I have been dreaming about that since I was a little girl. I couldn't imagine any better place to play my first Grand Slam Final. I can't wait for Saturday."
The first semi final was tame by comparison with Bartoli outclassing her inexperienced opponent Kirsten Flipkens who appeared nervous in her first appearance in a Grand Slam last four. Bartoli, French/Corsican by birth, dominated the play with her aggressive two handed shots on both wings.
Although the Centre Court patrons tried to will on Flipkens the latter failed to replicate the quality of her play in the quarter finals when she defeated former champion Petra Kvitova. Bartoli, who lost a Wimbledon Final against Venus Williams six years ago, was in total charge.
Bartoli, who modelled her game on Monica Seles, was so laid back yesterday that she was napping for half an hour shortly before going on court. She said; "I said to Vicky, the physiotherapist, to wake me up just in case. But I actually woke up by myself at 12.30. Then I went for a warm up at 12.40. That's just the way I am.
"I have been doing the (air bashing and practising of strokes) for ever. I have some tapes of myself when I was seven years old and I did the same. It's a great way for me to focus on the next point. It's not like I want to annoy my opponent - I'm making her wait or whatever. I was always ready before Kirsten."
Lisicki likes to play at a quick tempo. Bartoli's antics at the back of the court, turning her back on her opponent while she swishes her racket, could get under her skin. As they say in Retournac, Bartoli's home in the South of France, "On vera!"
Elsewhere Kyle Edmund progressed to the semis of the boys' tournament with a three set victory over American-Macedonian Stephan Kozlov who is only 15 and quite a prodigy. He remains on course to face the Korean prodigy Hyeon Chung, who has yet to drop a set in these championships in the Final.
Today Andy Murray will hope to beat the 6ft 8ins Pole Jerzy Janowicz without having to dig as deep into his reserves of energy as he did on Wednesday in his marathon against Fernando Verdasco. He faces the fastest serve in the modern game (he has already sent down a 140mph missile and has reached 149mph once).
Murray will rely on his experience of five previous Wimbledon semis, his victory in the Olympics last year and the support of the 15,000-strong crowd who undoubtedly made the difference during his three and a half hour quarter final.
Novak Djokovic will seek to reverse the Olympic result when Juan Martin del Potro beat him last year to win the bronze medal. In his favour is the leg injury being carried by del Potro who, like Djokovic, has yet to forfeit a set in these championships. If del Potro remains fit this could be Djokovic's most severe test.
