Players: Serena Williams and Martina Hingis
- Martina Hingis, the teenage prodigy who became the youngest world No.1
Martina Hingis was born in September 1980, and her mother, Melanie Molitor, named her after tennis legend Martina Navratilova. Taught by his mother, he soon became a true tennis prodigy, winning the junior tournament at Roland Garros at the age of 12. He began playing on tour at age 14, but by age 16 he was only allowed to play 15 tournaments, a rule he protested; “How can I get into the top 10 like that?”
His game was based on extraordinary hand-eye coordination, excellent tactics, amazing touch and great anticipation. Early in his career, he was still said to lack power and a decent second serve.
The year of Hingis’ promotion was 1996. Beating undisputed world No. 1 Steffi Graf at the Italian Open in May, he reached the semifinals. US Open:where Graf beat her 7–5, 6–3, and she finished runner-up at the WTA Championships (losing to Graf, this time in five sets, 6–3, 4–6, 6–0, 4–6, 6–0). Three months after her 16th birthday, she was already ranked sixth in the world, and in January 1997, she became the youngest Grand Slam champion in the history of tennis, defeating Mary Pierce (6-2, 6-2) in the final of the Australian Open.
In the months that followed, he claimed no fewer than eight titles, including Wimbledon (defeating Yana Novotna in the final, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3) and the US Open (defeating Venus Williams, 6-0, 6-4), and she reached the final of Roland Garros (lost to Iva Maggioli, 6-4, 6-2). These outstanding results made him the youngest player ever to become world No. 1 in March, aged 16 years and three months. In 1998 in Melbourne, she added a fourth Grand Slam title to her list of achievements. However, she failed to reach a major final in the following months until the US Open, where she finished runner-up to Lindsey Davenport (6–3, 7–5), and she temporarily lost the No. 1 ranking. In 1999, he won Australian Open for the third time, but suffered a dramatic defeat against Graf Roland Garros final (4-6, 7-5, 6-2), which crushed him so much that he lost in the first round of Wimbledon.
- Serena Williams. the woman Venus Williams predicted would be her greatest rival
Serena Williams, born in 1981, is the youngest of the Williams family. Her older sister, Venus, announced at the beginning of her career, in 1997, that her younger sister would be her main rival in the world No. 1 ranking. At that time, tennis experts did not know if he was joking or just being provocative. They soon discovered just how serious Venus was when Serena gave her first world-class performance in Scottsdale in November of that year. At age 16, ranked No. 304, she advanced from the qualifying round to the semifinals, defeating No. 7 Mary Pearce (No. 7, 6-3, 7-6) and No. 4 Monica Seles (No. 4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1).
In 1998, she defeated several top 10 players, including world No. 3 Lindsey Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Sydney Open (1–6, 7–5, 7–5), and reached the quarterfinals several times to finish the season as world No. 20.
1999 was already his breakout year even before the US Open. In February, she won her first title at the Coubertin in Paris, aged 17, defeating local player Amelie Mauresmo (6-2, 3-6, 7-6). Two weeks later, he also won in Indian Wells, defeating Graf in the final (6-3, 3-6, 7-5). In Miami, she defeated Hingis in the semifinals (6–4, 7–6), only to finish runner-up to sister Venus in the first all-sister final in tennis history. After a disappointing French Open, injury forced him out of Wimbledon, but he won a third tournament in Los Angeles in the summer and looked to be in good form leading up to the US Open.
Location: Flushing Meadows, New York
The US Open (known as the US Nationals until 1968 and the start of the Open Era) was founded in 1881 and, although it is the only Grand Slam tournament to have been played every year without interruption since its inception, it has moved several times in the 20th century. First held in August 1881 on the grass courts of the Newport Casino in Rhode Island, the tournament moved to New York in 1915, where it was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills until 1977 (except from 1921 to 1923, when the event was held in Philadelphia). Center Court in Forest Hills, built in 1924, could hold 14,000 spectators.
In 1978, the US Open left the West Side Tennis Club, which was now too small for such an important event, and moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. The National Tennis Center was one of the largest tennis complexes in the world. its center court was the Louis Armstrong Stadium, which could hold 14,000 spectators.
In 1997, a new center court, Arthur Ashe Stadium, was opened. With 23,000 seats, it was the largest tennis arena in the world.
Facts: Serena Williams wins in straight sets
The 1999 US Open final between world No. 1 Martina Hingis and rising American star Serena Williams began on the final Saturday of the tournament. It all started when Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena, saw that his daughters were on opposite sides of the draw and predicted that they would meet in the final of the tournament. Angry at his arrogance, the Swiss said harshly at the press conference. (Williams Family) to have a big mouth. They always talk a lot. It puts more pressure on them. Whether they are able to cope or not, that is the question now.”
It wasn’t long before the Williams family responded. Father Richard was the first to respond in his own way. quoted The New York Times.
“I don’t think there’s more pressure on them. I think the pressure is doing what I did, working 9 to 5. I still believe there will be two Williams in the final. What Martina said is no shock. I think he has the right to say what he wants to say. I’m going to ask him for an autograph. I love him. If you see him, tell him I love him.”
However, his daughter Serena did not share her father’s love for Hingis.
“He’s always been the type of person who … says things, just speaks his mind,” she said. “I think it has a little bit to do with not having a formal education. But you just kind of have to think more, you have to use your brain a little bit more in the world of tennis.”
How tAs the days wore on and the Williams sisters both reached the semi-finals, Hingis faced Venus, whom she had beaten in the 1997 US Open final. When Serena defeated Lindsey Davenport to reach the final, the pressure was on Hingis’ shoulders, but although she was down 3-2 in the final set, she eventually won (6-1, 4-6, 6-3) and commented: I don’t want to fight with words, as I said before, I can’t beat them with words, because the results and ratings show everything.
In the first games of her first Grand Slam final, Williams showed no signs of nervousness. Aided by her big serve, she kept Hingis on the defensive and hit 19 winners to take the first set 6-3.
In the second set, the Swiss got the better of Serena’s power. Lifting more balls, she started moving Williams around the court and didn’t let her dictate the game like she did in the first set. Serena kept attacking as much as possible and it resulted in some very high level tennis. The American was still stronger until she went 5-3 up and won two match points on her serve. At this point, he suddenly applied pressure and was unable to seal his victory, participating in longer rallies and losing control of the game. Hingis soon came back and Williams pushed to a tiebreak. In front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd, the two young ladies played out a great tiebreak, which Serena won 7-4, converting her third matchpoint. The youngest of the Williams sisters was the first to claim the Grand Slam title.
In the end, despite the war of words that raged all week, Williams and Hingis shook hands and hugged. During the presentation of the trophy, Serena felt very emotional. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or just scream, so I think I did,” she said.
What? next? Serena is starting to dominate the Tour, Hingis is slowly fading away
It would be almost three years before Serena won another Grand Slam crown, but when she did, it was to accomplish a feat known as the Serena Slam; Serena would go on to win a total of 23 Grand Slam titles and continues to chase the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, currently held by Margaret Court.
Hingis would finish runner-up three more times at the Australian Open, but, struggling to absorb the power of players like the Williams sisters, Lindsey Davenport or Jennifer Capriati, she would not win another Grand Slam.
Hingis and Serena would meet seven more times before the Swiss retired first in 2003, the overall record 7-6 in favor of the American..
