Williams Massacre Has Its Rewards, But Hingis Would Have Done It Just For Fun
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 26, 2001
No longer a woman with an axe to grind, the world No1 has turned the tables on Venus and Serena.
The previous two times Martina Hingis played Venus Williams at a grand slam tournament she looked like a little girl trying to cut down a tall tree with a blunt knife. This time she turned up with a chainsaw.
There was something chilling about the way Hingis chopped up Williams on centre court yesterday. Given Williams had beaten her at Wimbledon and the USOpen, you could have called it a revenge killing. Given her size disadvantage, there may have been a little bit of David and Goliath about it. But, with Hingis, the scary thing is she would have done it just for fun.
Throughout her career, only three things have wiped the smile off Hingis's face: a spat with her mother/coach Melanie Molitor; the taunting of the French Open crowd; and the Williams sisters.
Not once in three previous attempts had she been able to get past Serena and Venus at the same tournament and, last year, Venus had reduced the former women's queen to grand slam bridesmaid.
So badly had the Williams girls, and the equally powerful Lindsay Davenport, diminished Hingis's standing that the Women's Tennis Association computer, her mother and Anna Kournikova were about the only ones prepared to tell her that she was still the rightful No1. And Kournikova was probably a touch tight-lipped after their doubles court spat.
But not any more. After 53 one-sided minutes, Hingis now has more than just some minor titles and her press-conference spin to underline her claims to the top spot. Two matches, two Williams sisters cut down. Serena tortured and teased for three excruciating sets before the fatal blow, and Venus ripped apart 6-1 6-1.
There has been a lot of talk about how Hingis has improved her fitness and added dimensions to her game to challenge her stronger adversaries. Perhaps that was part of the story yesterday. It also helps when your opponent is struggling to keep her passing shots in the municipality.
But the real story of Hingis's success past, present and future is her self-confidence. With some people you would say it borders on arrogance. But Hingis picked up a visa and strutted across that border a long time ago.
It comes across in the way she speaks her mind in the press room. It comes across in the disbelieving smile she flashes when There has to be some mistake! an opponent somehow hits the ball past her or (How did that happen?) she makes a mistake. But, unlike many athletes, on most occasions Hingis has a game that does not embarrass her mouth.
Only at the 1999 French Open, when she took on the French crowd (not to mention Steffi Graf) and lost, and at Wimbledon four weeks later when she had a brief spat with her mother, has Hingis shown signs of mental fragility. But, even given their obviously poor preparations, what she did to the Williams sisters here might be her finest performance yet.
It was certainly one that deserved acclaim. Predictably, from the beaten Williams, it drew only guarded respect. ``She's a great counterpuncher," said the American, damning her conqueror with faint praise.
Williams stated the obvious when she said she had a bad day. She was slightly more revealing when she added: ``It can happen to the best of us."
Two consecutive grand slam titles entitle Williams to include herself in the list of the best. However, if the two sisters' Australian Open preparation is any measure of how they plan to handle their careers, they will struggle to join the all-time greats.
Food poisoning might have affected Serena's performance in the quarter-finals, but she was well below top condition before she lifted a fork. Venus chose to play only doubles in Sydney and laboured here. And, even with the shallow women's field, eventually you are going to run out of Meghann Shaughnessys and Amanda Coetzers.
Now the axe is in the other hand. The sisters will have to work out a way to beat Hingis. Maybe they'd better put in a court at fashion school.
© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald