Who's that humble, modest girl over there?! She's a champion!
Tennis is a very interesting game. More so today and very much so in the women's game. Clearly, we have what is a case of young vs. old, experience vs. inexperience, youth and vitality vs. age and maturity. It's especially interesting because there is no handing of the torch just as yet - we see both groups of youths and vets taking an almost equal charge in the race to be the best. Then we see the press and their focus on this whole new facet of women's tennis - obviously, they love to focus on the up-and-comers, the beautiful and the marketable in Anna Kournikova, in Venus and Serena Williams and Martina Hingis. You know - the people who claim to be the best, the one's to beat, the one's who will be #1 - yet they have not consolidated their talk with a tournament win (except in Hingis' case). In fact, between the three talkers (exclude Hingis), they've won two titles. Then there is somewhat a focus on the veterans - the people who made the game what it is today and the people who are still fighting to retain their position as the elite of tennis. Yet how much longer can they keep their stance? You'd think some would be on the brink of retirement.
And what about the players in the middle? Sure, Mary Pierce belongs to this age group. Then again, the press love her and so do much of the public with her beauty, her power, her emotions and her personality.
But, who's that shy, modest girl over there in the corner? No one seems to want to talk to her, why? Admittedly she says she is kind of boring and really not flamboyant. Very humble is her nature. Very tall is her stature. Somehow, people never seem to take notice of her - she was never told she was the next big thing, she was never told she could get anywhere in the game with the "excess baggage" she carried on her body, she was criticised for being "too nice." Let's face it, she's not a raving gorgeous "phenomenon" like Anna Kournikova. She's not one of the athletic and flamboyant Williams sisters. She's not the highly acclaimed and praised Martina Hingis. She just isn't marketable.
Yet, it seems it's all changed. This girl has become the one everyone wants a piece of, whether it be a player on the court who wants to absolutely "crush" her, or the press or the fans. Yes, it's Lindsay Davenport and she has just become a champion.
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