  |
|
|
|
Got the wood on Hingis
It always seemed like it was going to be Lindsay Davenport to win the Australian Open in 2000. In each of her three Grand Slam title runs, she defeated Americans in the semi finals (Venus Williams at US Open 1998, Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon 1999 and Jennifer Capriati at Australian Open 2000). The fact that she hadn't dropped a single set en route to her three Grand Slam finals was another sure omen for her to win in Australia. As Lindsay Davenport won the Australian Open by defeating Martina Hingis in straight sets, she fulfilled the prophecy which was bestowed upon her, and in turn, completely psyched the living wits out of Martina Hingis.
We cannot doubt that Martina is probably the best tennis player in terms of court smarts and anticipation, man or woman. Her strategy and her adaptability are quite remarkable, belying the abilities of most of the top players in the game combined. However, Martina still lacks the "weapon", the shot which can demoralise her opponents and beat them into submission time and time again. A shot which opponents will do their best to try and avoid at any cost. Steffi Graf's opponents were incredibly fearful of her wicked forehand. Monica Seles's opponents were conscious of putting in a high percentage of first serves to avoid the heavy, relentless second serve attack. Against Martina Hingis, there is no one shot which opponents fear. Hingis plays almost every shot in the book to perfection and pinpoint accuracy, but because she lacks the power which is needed these days on the tour, life can become immensely difficult on the court for the slight 5'7" 19 year old. Compare with Lindsay Davenport. Lindsay may be much slower of foot than her contemporary and she may not be as dependent on strategy as Martina is, but she hasn't got just one weapon. She has several powerful weapons which she has developed over the course of her career and with which she has confidence to gut out tough matches. Lindsay's groundstrokes are considered the most solid and powerful on the women's tour today. Her serve rates as one of the best, using a good deal of power, variety and accuracy. Improved in her arsenal are her net game and her movement. With weapons like these it is hard to overcome the 6'2 ½" Davenport, even on her bad day.
The copyright of the article Final well fought, but eventually won by Davenport in Women's Tennis is owned by . Permission to republish Final well fought, but eventually won by Davenport in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
