A final that had odds of 1,500-1 at the start of the tournament became a reality on a hot and sticky Thursday afternoon as Lisicki, relying on a thunderbolt serve and sheer force of will, ended the brave resistance of Agnieszka Radwanska with a 6-4 2-6 9-7 win.
Bartoli's tactics were more unconventional as the French 15th seed enjoyed a 20-minute power nap shortly before her semi-final and woke up to inflict a 6-1 6-2 nightmare on Belgian outsider Kirsten Flipkens.
Fans who might have been feeling short-changed following Bartoli's 63-minute demolition job having forked out $150 for a ticket, certainly got their money's worth of
drama and dazzling court craft as Lisicki showed the fight that helped her to jettison Serena Williams in the fourth round.
The German 23rd seed showed why she had an 18-4 win-loss record at the All England Club - but 16-15 at the other slams - as she clawed back from 3-0 down to win the longest third set in a women's semi-final here since Conchita Martinez squeezed past Lori McNeil 10-8 in 1994.
After outlasting last year's runner-up and fourth seed Radwanska in a two hour 18 minute sweat-fest, Lisicki could not stop beaming.
"It was unbelievable, the last few games were so exciting. Agnieszka played so well, it was a battle and I'm so happy to have won it," said Lisicki, whose smile has lit up a Wimbledon full of shocks and surprises.
"I was just fighting for every single point out there. I didn't know how it would end, I fought with all my heart but I believed I could win no matter what the score was."
Lisicki's calm and poised demeanour was in stark contrast to the strange on-court mannerisms of 2007 runner-up Bartoli.
Throughout the contest, the 28-year-old could not stand, or even sit, still for 10 seconds.
In between points she was a bundle of energy, practising air shots as she bounced around like a hyperactive toddler and she repeatedly kissed the bands on her right and left wrists.
The body language might have been unorthodox and some of her shots were equally eccentric but that did not stop her from seeing "the ball like a football" and she stands one match away from emulating countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo's 2006 success.
Flipkens, who suffered life-threatening blood clots 14 months ago and defied doctors orders to get her career back on track, admitted she had been powerless.
"I had to play 500 percent to beat Marion today," said the bespectacled Belgian.
"I tried my slices. She didn't have any problem with that. I tried the dropshot. She got it. I played a passing shot, she came to the net. I tried a lob. I tried everything. She was just too good," added Flipkens, who had to take an injury time out while trailing 3-0 in the second set to get her already-strapped right knee retaped.
Radwanska, the only top-four player to fulfil her seeding, emerged on to Centre Court with so much strapping above both knees it appeared as if her thighs had been mummified.
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