Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, winner again on the European clay

In 1997, Martina not just won a lot of matches and a lot of tournaments - she outright dominated the tour! She began 1997 by winning her first major at the Australian Open, a tournament with which she has a close affinity, having won the title three times in a row now. She went on to win 38 straight matches from the first round at Sydney in January to the final at the French Open, where she lost to Iva Majoli for the championship crown. Had it not been for a fall from a horse which required knee surgery, many would have predicted Hingis to win the French Open that year and subsequently the Grand Slam that year. A golden opportunity missed. She continued on to attain the #1 ranking, won twelve tournaments out of seventeen she participated in that year, and won the remaining two majors. Martina was to learn a great lesson in 1998 about what it would take to maintain outright dominance throughout the tour. Not only did she win a comparatively low number of titles last year, with just five tournaments including just one Grand Slam, but she had undergone a title drought from May to November - something unfathomable just a year ago. In effect, Martina relinquished the #1 ranking and finished last year at #2 behind Lindsay Davenport.

It would be fair to say that Martina is back. She's not winning all the titles in sight now, but she is the most consistent performer on the tour week-in and week-out - it is this factor which has taken her back to #1 in the world. Already, she has won three titles and 26 tour matches this year - the most for anyone on tour this year. She will continue to have trouble against power players for the rest of her career - she has already lost to big-hitters like Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo this year - but if she can continue to improve her fitness and keep her motivation at a consistently high level, there will be no stopping Martina from winning another ten grand slam championships!

PLAYER OF THE FORTNIGHT: Monica SELES (USA #3). Together with Chanda Rubin, the USA formed an unbeatable team against the underdog Croatian team. Hot on the heels of her first

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