The former tennis player struck up a friendship with Tom Cruise, who enjoyed her victory at Wimbledon in 2013.
To measure the impact that success at Wimbledon can have on the notoriety of a tennis player, just ask Marion Bartoli. The former French n°1 has already recounted her meeting with Pierce Brosnan, her idol, a few years ago. Thanks to his success on the London lawn in 2013, Bartoli was also able to meet another cinema superstar, Tom Cruise.
Their meeting took place last year, during an official dinner at Wimbledon, to the surprise of the Frenchwoman. “Just before dessert, the chairman Ian Hewitt makes his speech of thanks… He quotes my name, I get up and, there, Tom Cruise turns around… It was really him! He looks at me and applauds me. And I’m almost in a trance”says Marion Bartoli in the columns of L’Equipe.
Whatsapp messages exchanged
The story does not end there. “At the end of the meal, he comes to see me. ‘Marion, I’m so glad to meet you. I loved when you won here in 2013 with an ace on the match point, your two-handed game on both sides of the pitch, it was fantastic!’, continues Marion Bartoli. I don’t know what to say anymore… I ask him for a photo and he says to me: ‘I would love to be able to play tennis at Wimbledon once. I’m not very good at tennis, but it’s one of my dreams.’ And he gives me his number…”
Since then, Marion Bartoli explains that she and Tom Cruise send each other regular messages via Whatsapp. Their friendship will allow the RMC consultant to afford a nice shot, by welcoming the American superstar to her show. The interview will take place on the sidelines of the Mission Impossible premiere on June 26 in Abu Dhabi, explains Bartoli.
