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 Older and wiser Martina Hingis celebrates 19th birthday
Posted: Thursday September 30, 1999 11:38 AM
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Martina Hingis celebrated her 19th birthday on Thursday with a piece of cake for her mother, an afternoon party at Oktoberfest and a humble wish that she might finally win the French Open. The Swiss star admitted she had learned a lot during a stormy year in which she lost and regained her number one ranking and looked to the future with relish. "I've learned a lot about emotional patience," Hingis said in an interview with Reuters during the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, where she and the top performers from the four grand slam tournaments are chasing $6.7 million in prizes. "I found out you can't have everything at once." Czech-born Hingis, who has won five Grand Slams, began the year strongly by taking the Australian Open. But she walked into a storm when she referred to her muscular opponent Amelie Mauresmo as "half a man" as the French woman revealed she had a girlfriend. Hingis fell to pieces at the French Open -- the only Grand Slam event she has yet to win -- while losing to Steffi Graf in the final. Mercilessly baited by the crowd, Hingis lost control and the respect of practically everybody who witnessed the debacle. She received a warning for smashing her racquet, broke all the rules of tennis etiquette by crossing to Graf's side of the net to query a line-call, climbed the umpire's chair to remonstrate with the official, served underarm on match point and stormed off court before the prize-giving ceremony. She fell out with her mother and trainer, Melanie Molitor, and went off to Wimbledon on her own, where she promptly lost in the first round. Hingis disappeared for what she said was a badly needed holiday. Rejuvenated for the U.S. Open last month, she breezed through the early rounds and then won a tense three-set thriller against Venus Williams in the semifinals before being upset in the final by sister Serena Williams. "I'm happy with the way I played, but maybe not always content with the results," Hingis said on Thursday. "I've learned you have to work hard for it, that it doesn't always fall from the sky." Her main goal for next year is, again, the French Open. "I always dream about the French Open title," she said. "Winning the Grand Slam [all four grand slam tournaments in the same year] is also a big dream." Hingis has won the Australian Open three times, Wimbledon in 1997 and the U.S. Open in 1997. "Tennis is the most important thing for me right now," Hingis said when asked what she might be doing in five years. "It's the thing I do best. It's my main job and I want to stick with it." Hingis said that the game seemed to be changing and that she enjoyed the new, more physical challenge that the Williams sisters have brought to tennis. "The physical level of the game is getting higher all the time," she said. "It's gotten more emotional, more physical. I've been playing a technical game and it's a good challenge to raise the fitness level." Hingis' mental strength appears to be catching up with her athletic ability and that could be the key to her French Open dream.
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