Bartoli, Lisicki Advance to Wimbledon Finals Marion Bartoli defeated Kirsten Flipkens, 6-1, 6-2. WIMBLEDON, England - Marion Bartoli said earlier this week that being at Wimbledon put a smile on her face. Sabine Lisicki takes every opportunity to say how much she loves Wimbledon, how it is her favorite tournament. On Saturday, Bartoli and Lisicki will meet in the Wimbledon final, and one of them will win their first Grand Slam title. Their paths to the final were quite different, though. Bartoli, the No. 15 seed, did not have to face a seed higher than No. 17 Sloane Stephens in the half of the draw vacated by No. She has not lost a set in the tournament after easily dispatching No. 20 Kirsten Flipkens, 6-1, 6-2, in 62 minutes in the semifinals Thursday. It was a performance almost as dominant as Serena Williams's 6-0, 6-1 victory in 46 minutes over Sara Errani at the French Open semifinals last month. On her way to the final, the No. 23 seed Lisicki defeated No. 14 seed Sam Stosur, No. 1 seed Serena Williams and, on Thursday, fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in a 2-hour-19-minute battle, 6-4, 2-6, 9-7. Lisicki lost the second set and was down a break, 3-0, in the third after Radwanska won six straight games and broke Lisicki five consecutive times. But Lisicki had been in a similar situation against Williams in the fourth round, and she said that success gave her confidence. "I just fought with all my heart and I believed that I could still win no matter what the score was," Lisicki said. She served for the match at 5-4, but was broken to go back on serve. On her fourth break point after that, in the 15th game, Lisicki broke Radwanska and served for the match again at 8-7. This time, she held on, closing the match with a forehand winner down the line. Lisicki, 23, is the first German player to reach the Wimbledon final since Steffi Graf in 1999. Lisicki said Graf sent her a good luck message before the match. It will be Lisicki's first Grand Slam final. Bartoli, 28, has not been to a Grand Slam final since she was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2007. It has been a challenging and inconsistent year, as she went through various coaching changes and battled various injuries and ailments. Before Thursday, she had not played in a semifinal of a tournament this year. But before her match against Flipkens, Bartoli was so relaxed she took a 30-minute nap. When she got to Centre Court, she was in complete control. She broke Flipkens, who playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, in the second game of the match and never allowed her to get comfortable. Flipkens had been one of the top-serving players in the tournament, but Bartoli was intense and aggressive throughout, standing inside the baseline even when returning first serves. "Today really I saw the ball like a football ball," Bartoli said in her postmatch interview with the BBC. Flipkens seemed to be bothered by her knee and needed a medical timeout in the middle of the second set. The crowd was on Flipkens's side, with her serve-and-volley style and inspiring comeback story. A year ago, Flipkens was ranked No. 262 after missing two months when blood clots were discovered in her legs. She has risen to the No. 20 ranking, and will break into the top 20 after this tournament. But Bartoli prevented Flipkens from playing her style of game, then flustering her few net attempts with perfect lobs. Bartoli was even the better net player during the match, with several volley winners. "I had to play, I don't know, 500 percent, I think to beat Marion today," Flipkens said. She was just too good. Bartoli was emotional at the end of the match, but commented afterward how much fun she was having with the team that replaced her father as her coach. It includes the former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo. "So far we are having so much fun outside of the court as well," Bartoli said. Before the match we were laughing and making jokes. She said she was a much better player than she was six years ago, when she lost in the final to Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion. This time, Bartoli will be the more experienced player. "The last time I was so young, in a way," Bartoli said. I was every time the underdog coming out on the court, which this time it was totally the opposite. I was this time the highest ranked player, and I needed to put out a great performance in order to go through. I think I've been able to deal with the pressure really well and keep improving throughout the championships.