Monday, January 16, 2006  11:20 PM
Martina Hingis
It's been about three years since I've seen that familiar face and name on screen in a Grand Slam draw. In case you don't know what I'm getting at by putting up the second pic, it's the Australian Open first round draw and you are supposed to be looking at Martina Hingis vs. Vera Zvonareva on Rod Laver Arena starting 7.30pm Melbourne Time. They gave Hingis Rod Laver! That means that her match will most DEFINITELY be aired on Star Sports and it also means I have to find some way to skip stupid Vandana Chopra's tutorial at 4pm to make it home by 4.30pm Singapore time which is when the match starts.
I can hardly believe she's back on courts again. Martina Hingis was, and still is, my inspiration to pick up tennis and train like crazy three times a week when I was thirteen. I remember first noticing her on television in 1998 playing Lindsay Davenport in a Wimbledon (?) match and I admired the way she hit the ball, the way her ball always goes across in such crafty angles and the smartness of her game. She was unlike the power players, namely the terrible sisters Venus and Serena Williams, who only relied on sheer strength. Hingis played with such finesse and such grace that I became a fan all at once. Staying up all night to watch her in the US Open in 2000 and talking to Sam on the phone for five hours that night just discussing Hingis and her match, running down to the canteen during the 2001 Australian Open with Cheryl just to make frantic calls back home to check whether she had won or lost and ending up skipping the entire recess, setting my alarm at 3am in the morning just to catch the unearthly French Open matches that she was playing - I can remember every single moment vividly in my mind. And that heart-stopping Serena Williams match during Chinese New Year in 2001 or 2002 or something; where she came from two match points down to winning the match. That was seriously one of the best and most thrilling matches I've ever watched. I was screaming, squeaking and feeling my heart jump out of my body at the same time.
It seemed just like yesterday when she was still playing and winning career titles. It does not seem like she has been on a three year hiatus, although she has and the rest of the tennis world says so. In her last year playing tennis before she took a break, Hingis played mixed doubles with Roger Federer in the Hopman Cup and won the title for Switzerland. And that point in time, Roger Federer was a nobody and I remember thinking cynically to myself whether Federer would be pulling Hingis down. Look at where Roger Federer is now. When Hingis left, Maria Sharapova wasn't even on the playing field.
I would LOVE to see Hingis play Sharapova in a Grand Slam final one day. But I guess first I'll have to make plans for tomorrow's match. I cannot wait. And, Venus is out of the Australian Open already. Yay. :)
What they say about the Hingis comeback
Serena Williams:
"She was part of our group, like myself and Venus and Anna (Kournikova), just a lot of young kids that kind of came up around the same time. I actually kind of missed her when she left. It's really nice to see her back, absolutely.
"She has dreams of coming back. I think that she's here, and even making that effort is amazing. She dreams big. I think if your dream big, you can reach lots of goals."
Venus Williams:
"I think she's a great player. I'm happy she came back. I think a lot of people are happy … Her fans are extra happy. The sky's the limit for her, really for anyone on the WTA Tour.
"We all start on the same playing field. We all have the same opportunities to do whatever. It's an open game. So I think as long as she works hard, she could do fine."
Lindsay Davenport:
"I think it's great. I was very outspoken a few years ago in my disappointment that she did quit because I always enjoyed her as a player.
"I enjoyed competing against her. I enjoyed having her around. I think it's great that she took the time she felt she needed away from the game and realised she really did miss it and is coming back.
"I wish her all the success. It will be interesting to see if she can adapt her game to the different level of play that we now have than three or four years ago."
Maria Sharapova:
"I honestly think it brings so much more excitement to the game and so much more attention.
"Obviously now she's not seeded, so sometimes she can play a seed first round. It's just kind of that unexpected great player that you can play maybe first round, like it happened last week. It brings a lot more excitement for sure."
Mary Pierce:
"I'm happy. I love Martina. Played doubles with her for a year in 2000 and had a great time. I'm personally just happy to see her back because I missed her.
"It's tough in the beginning to come back, physically and mentally. I think in about two or three months it will be easier to tell.
"She's a champion. She's a great tennis player. It's pretty open right now, so it's a good time actually for her to be coming back."
3 comment(s). Your thoughts?
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