PARIS: Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli said on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) that she first considered making a professional comeback while suffering from a mystery illness last year. But on Tuesday Bartoli announced that she would return to the WTA Tour in 2018, aiming to be ready for the Miami Open in March, after recovering from the illness despite losing 20kg of weight in a matter of months. The former world number seven, who was also beaten by Venus Williams in the 2007 Wimbledon final, is confident that setting a return date for March isn’t too optimistic. “The day I play my first match will be a huge victory after what I’ve been through, and what I do on the court is just a bonus. “In terms of tennis, I’m at about 80-90 percent of my level from Wimbledon 2013 and physically I’m missing about 40 percent of that level, which at the same time is and isn’t a lot of work.”AFP

Source: Manila Times December 21, 2017 15:00 UTC