The Unheralded Number 1 - Page 6© Michael Cecilio
Page 6
Jul 6, 1999
The Big Servers
So who were the big servers of the tournament? On grass, it is a great advantage to have such a big serve as it can shoot through very fast and catch the returner unawares. Thus, it is no surprise to see that a lot of the big servers did well at the Championships this year. Let's take a look at the top guns:
1. Venus WILLIAMS 197 km/h or 123 mph
2. Mariaan de SWARDT 186 km/h or 116 mph
3. Jana NOVOTNA 182 km/h or 114 mph
4. Alexandra STEVENSON 181 km/h or 113 mph
5. Mirjana LUCIC 178 km/h or 111 mph The Acers
Even better than a fast serve is to have a serve which is unreturnable. Needless to say, it saves the server a lot of energy and a lot of time in point construction when one can blast a serve out wide or down the line. Here are the 'acers': 1. Alexandra STEVENSON 57 aces (6 matches)
2. Lindsay DAVENPORT 35 aces (7 matches)
3. Mirjana LUCIC 28 aces (6 matches)
4. Nathalie TAUZIAT 26 (5 matches)
5. Venus WILLIAMS 21 (5 matches) PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Lindsay DAVENPORT (USA)
She won Wimbledon without dropping a single set, defeating past champions Jana Novotna and Steffi Graf in her path. In the process, Lindsay regained the world #1 ranking from Martina Hingis. Added to that, she won the doubles trophy with countrywoman Corina Morariu. Is there anything she can't do?!?! Needless to say, Lindsay far and away deserves the accolade of "Player of the Tournament". NOTEABLE MENTION: Steffi GRAF
It would have been a moment to savour for Steffi Graf had she won the title for the 8th time in her career. It would have also been a great way to depart Wimbledon by winning the championship, following her spectacular victory at the French. However, it was not to be as she came across one of the most powerful players in the final. Nevertheless, she had an incredible run to the final, and played some awe-inspiring matches along the way. SURPRISE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Jelena DOKIC (AUS)
This was an easy choice! Ranked #129 entering Wimbledon, Jelena leaves London ranked #37 in the world and about $80,000 richer. She reached the quarter finals as one of three unseeded entrants to do so this year. However, it was the way she reached the quarter finals which got everyone's attention. She surprised the tennis world by defeating the top seeded Martina Hingis in the opening round. Not only did she defeat Hingis, but she pummelled the five time Grand Slam champion 6-2 6-0. She confirmed her status later in the tournament by defeating 9th seed Mary Pierce in the round of 16.
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