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.The 28-year-old beat Sabine Lisicki in straight sets on Centre Court on Saturday to win the Wimbledon title.
But no sooner had she been presented with her trophy, the BBC’s John Inverdale criticised her appearance.
He said: 'Do you think Bartoli's dad told her when she was little, “You're never going to be a looker, you'll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight”?’
The Frenchwoman responded by inviting him to the gala event held after the conclusion of the men’s final which saw Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a male champion.
‘I invite him to come to see me in my dress and high heels tonight at the tournament ball. It could change his mind,’ she said
‘It doesn’t matter, honestly. I am not blonde, yes. That is a fact. Have I dreamt about having a model contract? No, sorry.
‘But have I dreamt about winning Wimbledon? Yes, absolutely.’
Inverdale apologised for his comments prior to Murray’s victory over the world No 1.
‘Before we start, I probably ought to just briefly return to yesterday and a clumsy phrase that I used about Marion Bartoli which has understandably caused something of a furore,’ he said.
The point I was trying to make, in a rather ham-fisted kind of way, was that in a world where the public perception of tennis players is that they’re all 6ft tall Amazonian athletes, Marion – who is the Wimbledon champion – bucks that trend.
‘She is fantastic example to all young people that it’s attitude and will and determination together, obviously, with talent that, in the end, does get you to the top.
‘So I have apologised to Marion by letter if any offence was caused and I do hope that we can leave the matter there now.’
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