Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki insisted on Friday that she will not turn off the waterworks despite locker room resentment over her reputation as a drama queen.
The permanently smiling German, who tackles France’s Marion Bartoli in Saturday’s championship match, has won an army of British fans with her emotional run to a maiden Grand Slam final.
But the 23-year-old is reportedly unpopular with many women players on the tour who feel she exaggerates her back story which includes five painful months on the sidelines after suffering a potentially career-ending ankle injury.
Some rivals are weary of Lisicki’s “having to learn to walk again” summary of her return to action.
After Thursday’s semi-final, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska only managed a cool, abrupt handshake with Lisicki with half her back turned after the German had theatrically collapsed to the Centre Court turf in celebration.
“Should I just be there and dance? What could I do?,” said Radwanska
“I didn’t feel like that (warmly congratulating her opponent) at that point.”
Lisicki hit back on Friday.
“That’s just myself. I enjoy myself out there. Why shouldn’t I show it?,” she said.
“I’m an emotional person. It helps me stay relaxed and to enjoy the game and play my best tennis. I won’t change anything.”
Lisicki, the first German woman in a Grand Slam final since Steffi Graf in 1999 and bidding to become the first from her country to win Wimbledon since 1996 when Graf also triumphed, has her compatriots on her side.
Graf sent her a good-luck message before the semi-final, while three-time champion Boris Becker has also been passing on tips.
“I have just spoken to Boris. I asked him a couple of questions, how it was for him. He won the first final he was in so that’s pretty good,” she added.
Meanwhile, Bartoli admits her run to the final has put a smile back on her face just months after hitting rock-bottom when she sacked her father from his role as her coach.
Bartoli has played some of the best tennis of her life over the past two weeks at the All England Club as she swept into the title match without dropping a set.
The French 15th seed, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2007, is relishing her return to the spotlight so soon after a dark period when she struggled with the emotional decision to move on from her dad Walter, who had coached her since childhood.
Bartoli found it hard to strike up a rapport with a succession of replacement coaches, working for three matches with Jana Novotna and Iwona Kuczynska before being tutored by Gerald Bremond who quit after two weeks.
“There were some things off the court, it’s pretty much private, but it kind of affected my mood and my results because it was tough to deal with,” Bartoli said.
“I believe what does not kill you makes you stronger and I just was able to come back stronger. Now I’m just so happy again and so smiley.”
Bartoli has always played with remarkable enthusiasm and intensity, but she concedes that attitude sometimes worked against her, making her unable to switch off away from the court and mentally drained before matches had even started
She finally appears to have found a way to harness that energy after hiring 2006 Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo.
Mauresmo has brought a calmer approach to Bartoli’s preparations, to the extent that the 28-year-old was even willing to sleep up to 30 minutes before her semi-final win over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday.
“She’s helping me with the way I need to deal with my stress and with my energy out of the court,” Bartoli said.