How James Bond inspired Marion Bartoli to glory in the final at Wimbledon - Legends' Voice

For me, Wimbledon had been a dream since I was a kid. I used to watch Wimbledon on TV. I saw Pete Sampras win the tournament almost every year.

I had dreamed of being him since I was very young, dreaming of lifting the golden platter on Centre Court, in front of the royal box. I always told myself I might be lucky enough to pick up my bag of racquets and one day walk through this famous corridor which brings you to Centre Court, with Kipling's sentence, etc. It was a huge dream, which seemed totally inaccessible to me.

The first time I came here was for the girls' singles, in 2001, I think. I was amazed, like a child discovering a new world I only saw on TV. At the time, I was also a sparring partner for Julie Halard and Ayi Sugiyama, who played doubles together.

Julie invited me for a BBQ party at the home she was renting with her husband. Arnaud (Halard's husband) had set fire to the garden of the house. There was a kind of creeping vine climbing up the wall.

We were talking and suddenly we saw the vine catching fire! Ad/> As a junior, of course, I couldn't rent a house. I was sleeping in dormitories at Roehampton, where the qualifiers take place. We were coming to the All England Club every morning in the minibus.

It was like reaching the Holy Grail. By showing your credential, you could access this whole world and play the girls' singles tournament on the real Wimbledon courts. But at night, you had to go back to Roehampton.

So this world was both very close and very far. It was a strange feeling. ATP Eastbourne doubles'A lot of fun' — Serena makes winning return alongside Jabeur to progress15 HOURS AGO I was quickly able to enter the main draw and then I really had the feeling of being part of the tennis elite.