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Was Hingis crying wolf?

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Posted: Wednesday August 11, 1999 11:36 AM

Was it my imagination, or did Martina Hingis just pull a fast one. I'm referring to her victory at the TIG Classic last weekend, which she crowned with a comprehensive straight-sets demolition of world No. 4, Venus Williams.

The win secured Hingis the world No. 1 ranking for the third time, displacing Williams' semifinal victim, Lindsay Davenport, from the top spot in the process.

It was perhaps the most remarkable rise to the top in Hingis' career however, as it came just days after a very public display of teenage angst in which she revealed how hard it is no longer being invincible.

According to Martina, her recently discovered fallibility had begun to play havoc with her self-esteem.

At Wimbledon, she suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Aussie teen Jelena Dokic, which came after an unexpected loss to Steffi Graf in the French Open Final. The losses hit home hard, as the winner of five Grand Slam titles began to realize that sweeping past anyone in her path, as she had done two years earlier, was no longer guaranteed.

A loss of form, which apparently caused her to question whether she could still compete at the top level, wasn't the only thing Martina was concerned about.

There was also the question of her apparent loss of popularity, which she felt unfairly resulted from a petulant display when losing the final at Roland Garros. Blaming her actions on a simple teenage overreaction, she said, "People forget I'm just 18. I think at that age people make mistakes."

All of the above of course is very sad -- or at least it would be if you could wholeheartedly believe it. But, when the poor little rich girl bounces back, as she did over the weekend, with such an all-conquering display of supreme confidence, you've got to wonder.

Was it all a ploy? Was this gifted phenomenon really in crisis, or did she use a brief lull in her meteoric career to her best advantage by playing possum and lowering her opponent's guard? If so, then it worked, and she's not only a great tennis player but a great actress too.

There's nothing wrong with that of course. Mind games win matches just as much as what you do on court, and either way you've got to admire her resilience.

 

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