It's been 15 years since Martina
Hingis savoured the first of her three Melbourne triumphs. And for the first
time in five years, the former No.1 has returned to Melbourne Park.
"It's great to be back. I mean, the city where you had success, it's
always nice to be back. You know, it's
been five years, so it's nice to have played on these courts where I used to
[play],” beamed Hingis.
The 31-year-old looks fit enough
to challenge once again for the top spot, but that won't be happening any time
soon. For now she's content taking part in the women's legends event along with
Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Barbara Schett, Iva Majoli and Australian
Nicole Bradtke.
"Getting [Martina Hingis]
back is great," said Legends Tournament Director Todd Woodbridge.
"She's still playing a great brand of tennis.”
Not surprisingly, with the defeat
yesterday of top seed Caroline Wozniacki, the debate surrounding power versus
strategy was brought up. Hingis was revered for her deftness of touch, court
smarts and coverage, and she had the ability to nullify big hitters including
Seles, Graf, Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and, early on, the Williams sisters.
“I think they didn't control
their power yet at that time, because we had great matches. At that time I still had the strategy and
everything was just, it was different,” smiled Hingis.
As far as Hingis is concerned,
there is still room for power players and those who prefer to defend. But, she
concedes, the game has certainly changed.
"Now it's the power and the
control and the racquet’s speed, the balls, the court. Everything has made progress. It's normal.
The sport evolves, and so did tennis, women's tennis.
"At that time I still was
able to sneak in [a] few drop shots and angles.
It's still nice to see when girls do it today, but you just have less
time. Then it was still probably the
right point and the right time to do it."
And Hingis's advice for Caroline
Wozniacki? Step up.
"Today you just can't let
yourself get pushed back. That's what
she has to do. She has to try to move
in, step forward, otherwise there is always going to be somebody coming on top
of her at a Grand Slam.
"She's a great player. I wish I would see her come in a little bit
more … But you just can't let yourself push back today, not against [Maria]
Sharapova, [Kim] Clijsters, Serena [Williams], not somebody like that."
Hingis still holds the record as
the youngest Australian Open women's champion at 16 years and four months, an
achievement that is likely to stand the test of time thanks to the WTA putting
limits on the amount of tournaments teenagers can contest. It’s a change that
Hingis believes impedes player development.
"I think it's a shame, but I
always said that. I think, okay, we all
started very young, at 14, 15 years of age, but that's the time when you learn
most. [Jennifer] Capriati was young,
Steffi [Graf] was young, Arantxa [Sanchez Vicario], we all were 14, 15 when we
got on tour, [also Monica] Seles.
"We all became No.1 in the
world, so it's not a matter of where your point is. Okay it's gotten more physical, so probably
it'll be pushed back for two years."
Of the current crop, Hingis
believes that Petra Kvitova is the player to beat.
“I really love game she plays,
the fluency she has on her strokes and the serve, and also now more confidence
when I saw the finals at Wimbledon.
“She's a true champion. Sooner or later I think we'll see her at the
top spot probably. If it's not going to
happen here, I think it's a question of time.”
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