Going to the net
Eight grand slam singles winners in '98 free-for-all
Posted: Thursday December 31, 1998 03:52 PM
| |
At Wimbledon, Sampras won for the fifth time in six years to gain his 11th major title AP |
NEW YORK, New York (AP) -- Parity ruled tennis in 1998, a year when eight players captured grand slam singles titles -- four for the first time -- and a few stalwarts of the old guard withstood the challenges of feisty young upstarts.
In the end, Pete Sampras secured the men's No. 1 ranking for a record sixth straight year, a feat he can't imagine anyone else matching, and Lindsay Davenport grabbed the women's top spot for the first time.
"I know what it takes," Sampras said of his long reign. "I really don't see anyone in today's game having the consistency, having the durability that it takes to be No. 1 six years. That is the majority of a career. You need the game, you need the heart, you need the mind. Some guys have two of the three. Some guys have a little bit of the three. In order to do it for six years, you need everything."
The competition is so fierce in tennis these days, with anyone in the top 100 capable of beating anyone else, Sampras said, that it would take an extraordinary player to come along and do what he has done.
"Maybe when I'm done playing, or when I'm 56 years old, there might be somebody able to do it," he said. The depth of the game on the men's and women's tours was evident from the start of the year to the finish.
Along the way, it was a free-for-all. Scissor-kicking 30-year-old Petr Korda won his first major at the Australian Open, where Martina Hingis briefly continued her one-year dominance of the women's tour.
Spain's Carlos Moya notched his first big title at the French Open, while compatriot Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario proved she's not quite ready for retirement at 26 as she won for the third time at Roland Garros.
At Wimbledon, Sampras won for the fifth time in six years to gain his 11th major title, and 29-year-old Jana Novotna finally delivered more smiles than tears in her third shot at the championship.
Davenport, who produced the most solid performance of her six-year career, grabbed the women's top spot for the first time AP | |
When the U.S. Open rolled around, Patrick Rafter proved his '97 victory was no fluke, and Davenport produced the most solid performance of her six-year career to win her first major.
Yet beyond the diversity of all those grand slam champions, there were others who filled out the year with grand moments, great challenges and promises for the future.
Monica Seles, once indomitable before tragedies and injuries took their toll, came tantalizingly close to a fairy-tale triumph in France just three weeks after her father-coach, Karolj, died of cancer. The crowd and virtually the whole tennis world was pulling for Seles, and even Sanchez-Vicario, who beat her in their three-set final, would have been happy to see her opponent win.
Steffi Graf made a fitful return to the game at Wimbledon after a yearlong absence due to injuries and cried when she spoke of how she had briefly considered retirement. And though the 29-year-old Fraulein Forehand never quite overcame her rustiness, she sparkled at times and showed she might have another major or two left in her if she can stay healthy.
Venus Williams started off the year boasting that she would be No. 1 by the end. She finished a respectable No. 5, and would surprise no one if she delivered on her promise this year. Her younger sister, Serena, didn't develop quite as much, but remains a threat at No. 20.
On the men's tour, Marcelo Rios made his mark, reaching his first major final at the Australian, ascending to the No. 1 spot for a total of six weeks, and finishing No. 2 with seven titles in eight finals. The Chilean became the first South American to rank No. 1 in the 25-year history of the ATP rankings.
Spain's Alex Corretja, who lost to compatriot Moya in the French final, closed out the year by taking the ATP Tour World Championship in Germany to finish No. 3 in the rankings. A winner on carpet, clay and hard courts this year, with five titles in seven finals, Corretja had the highest season-ending ranking of any Spaniard in ATP history.
Andre Agassi never got beyond the fourth round of a major during the year, but he worked his way back into playing shape with the biggest one-year jump into the Top 10 in ATP history by climbing from No. 122 to No. 6. He led the tour with 10 finals, won half of those, and equaled Rios for the tour lead with 68 match wins.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
