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Page 7
And so the writing was on the wall. Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam title, ahead of her more experienced, higher ranked and older sister Venus Williams. Serena defeated Martina 6-3 7-6(4), taking the winner's $750,000 cheque and boosting her ranking to a career high #4.
When we all look back on Jana Novotna's career, most of us will refer to Wimbledon. Not only as the source of her biggest triumph, but also as the source of her greatest heartache. We will always remember that painful 1993 Wimbledon final where she choked away a 4-1 40-0 lead in the final set to lose the championship against Steffi Graf. We will also remember the way she sobbed uncontrollably on the Duchess's shoulder after that miraculous meltdown. However, we will also look at her redemption in 1998 when she FINALLY won Wimbledon for her one and only Grand Slam title in her career. Not that it matters that she only ended up with one major in her career. She got what she wanted in the end - her dream Wimbledon trophy. It is a little sad that in the same year, we see the retirements of two of the greatest players of their generation in Steffi Graf and Jana Novotna. In fact it is a little ironic that Novotna decides to retire in the same year as her long-time on-court nemesis, a player who has caused her great on-court heartache and prevented her from winning the myriad of titles we knew Novotna was capable of doing. In 33 matches they played, Novotna drew the winning straw on only four occasions. Nevertheless, Novotna has decided, that after a slow recovery from the ankle injury she sustained at Roland Garros in June, she will leave the WTA tour for good come the end of the year, leaving the tour in the hands of the new generation. Since that injury, she had never been quite the same, playing with a lack of sharpness and intensity that is so unusual for Novotna. Her speed of foot was also hampered by the injury, preventing her from a successful defence of her Wimbledon crown earlier this year and contributing to her early bow out from the Open this year. And so it is, with her 6-3 6-2 loss to former top 5 player Anke Huber, Novotna has decided to quit after she honours the tournaments she has committed to for 1999. Whether we remember her for her many, many meltdowns in her career, or for her many triumphant victories, we will always admire the beautiful, acrobatic serve-volley game from Jana Novotna, one of the last and one of the best serve-volleyers the tour will ever see grace their tennis courts.
The copyright of the article A New Grand Slam Champion - Page 7 in Women's Tennis is owned by . Permission to republish A New Grand Slam Champion - Page 7 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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