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 Fighting back Hingis battles to return to the top
Posted: Saturday August 07, 1999 06:21 PM
CARLSBAD, Calif. (CNN/SI) -- Two years ago, Martina Hingis took advantage of a lull in women's tennis. She won 37 consecutive matches, three Grand Slam tournament titles and ascended to the No. 1 ranking at age 16. With Steffi Graf injured most of 1997 and Lindsay Davenport and sisters Venus and Serena Williams not yet developed into serious challengers, Hingis easily ruled the courts. "I had an open road," she said. "I don't think I understood really what was going there at that time. I kept winning, but I didn't really appreciate it because it just was so easy." It's not anymore. In recent tennis memory, few have lost more disastrously than Hingis. In the French Open final against Steffi Graf, a player she dismissed in previous comments as too old, Hingis grew unglued by a line call, was jeered by the crowd, and lost the match. She left the court before the trophy presentation -- and then eventually returned, in tears. "I lost a little bit of concentration there and definitely I didn't do the right things [by going over to the other side] and later on, you think: 'what was I thinking there? What was I doing?' But that's all over now. I learn from mistakes and go on." Just two weeks after the French, Hingis was blown out of Wimbledon in the first round by rookie Jelena Dokic -- the worst loss of her career. "I didn't have enough time mentally to get over some things but I felt good going into the match," Hingis said. "There were just too many things, I think. I was distracted, and not really well prepared for that tournament." Of the lessons Martina Hingis learned from her losses at the French and Wimbledon, perhaps the most valuable came in her relationship with her mother and coach Melanie Molitor. After the French, mother and daughter argued, and Molitor stayed away from Wimbledon. But it was there that Hingis realized just how much she needed her mother. "My mom wasn't there and I felt a little bit lonely on the court, just not the same person," Hingis said. "I realized I really need her to be there, not just as a coach but also as a mom, because she's always been there. We just complete each other and that's very important. So I came back home and started practicing with her. I saw nobody can help me as much as she does." Hingis heads into the U.S. Open later this month wondering if she can still beat the top players. She admits to being nervous, a feeling that first consumed her a year ago. "I know I've won five Grand Slams, I shouldn't be nervous about that, but still, if you can do it again, if you can beat those players you used to beat," she said. Even though she's ranked second, Hingis says, "I miss being one of the best players in the world. I'm used to that." The 18-year-old no longer dominates the way she did in 1997. She's been replaced at No. 1 by Davenport, who beat Hingis in last year's U.S. Open final. And the once-cocky Hingis has lost crowd support this year. A fan shouted, "Go home, Martina" during one of her matches at the TIG Classic this week. She began the year by defending her Australian Open title, but she ran into controversy Down Under when she reportedly described her opponent in the final, Amelie Mauresmo, as "half a man." "It's much tougher," Hingis said. "I would love to have another year like '97." As Hingis ponders her vulnerability, so do other players. "It's going to be very interesting to see how she reacts to the troubles she's had," said former No. 1 Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario. "I guess that's the test; to see how one reacts when they are down. Only time will tell." No. 3 Steffi Graf, another former teen phenom added, "You go through different emotions so it's difficult to always play at a certain level -- to be in the spotlight early is not so easy either." Hingis admits she was complacent in '97. She won so often and easily that she never had to think much on the court. "Before, everything was so natural, I just came out there and I had the feel and I just played my game," she said. "In practice, I don't always have that confidence like I used to have a half-year ago. My body has changed and I have to work more." At times, Hingis believes fans forget she's still only 18, a teenager struggling to regain her place in the new world order of women's tennis. But even though she's heard more boos this year than at any time in her career, Hingis still craves the attention. "If there wouldn't be anybody watching me, I wouldn't like it," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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