Tennis year in review: New faces hold court

By BILL BARCLAY

Tennis' balance of power see-sawed dramatically in 2003 before settling firmly on the side of Belgium and youth.

A schizophrenic 12 months began with a "Serena Slam" and the 32-year-old Andre Agassi becoming the oldest men's grand slam champion for three decades in Australia.

It finished with Belgians Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters dominating the women's game and Andy Roddick heading a new generation of men's pretenders to replace the departed Pete Sampras.

The Williams sisters' year was tinged with misfortune, controversy and tragedy.

Serena's victory at the Australian Open meant she became the fifth woman to hold all four grand slam singles titles simultaneously. But that was as good as it got.

Her tantrum at the French Open in June, when she was goaded by an unsporting crowd and later accused her semifinal conqueror Henin-Hardenne of "lying and fabricating", left a sour taste.

Serena had a subdued victory over injury-stricken older sister Venus in the Wimbledon final a month later.

Venus did not play again and a nagging knee injury curtailed Serena's season and cost her the No 1 ranking.

In an awful end to a difficult year, their elder half-sister Yetunde was shot dead in Los Angeles in September. This year will prove a severe test of their resilience and appetite.

Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters, previously unable to compete with the Williams' power, saw their chance and grabbed it.

With her steely resolve and beautiful technique, Henin-Hardenne added the US Open crown to the French Open title, showing a ruthless streak to beat the more powerful but seemingly over-awed Clijsters in each final.

The Belgian pair quickly ousted Serena from the top of the rankings, finishing one and two respectively. Belgian tennis is still pinching itself.

So too is American Roddick after ending the year with his maiden grand slam success at the US Open in September and the No 1 ranking.

To some the 21-year-old Roddick is brash, to others he is a breath of fresh air. But his recruitment of the streetwise Brad Gilbert as coach was a masterstroke and few opponents can now cope with the all-court game and will to win of Sampras' natural heir.

At the age of 32, Sampras blinked away tears as he confirmed his retirement after a record 14 grand slam titles in a ceremony at Flushing Meadows in August.

Fittingly, Sampras' farewell took place on the same centre court where, 13 days later, Roddick was to pick up his mantle by beating Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the US Open final.

Switzerland's former world No 1 Martina Hingis quit at the much more tender age of 22, while former grand slam winners Richard Krajicek, Michael Chang and Pat Rafter also retired.

One player who proved he could live with Roddick was Roger Federer, who also secured his maiden grand slam.

An entirely different animal to his American rival, Federer used his feline touch and lazy brilliance to become the first Swiss men's grand slam singles champion when he won Wimbledon with some of the most extravagant stroke-playing the All England club has witnessed.

En route he outclassed Roddick in the semifinals and the 22-year-old capped his year by winning the Masters Cup in Houston. His battle for supremacy with Roddick next year will be fascinating.

Elegant Spaniard Ferrero also enjoyed himself, ending the surprise run of Dutchman Martin Verkerk to win the French Open title.

The new wave left Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who started the year as No 1, floundering.

A disciplinary row with the ATP tarnished his early season and Hewitt ended it ranked only 17.

He did help Australia to another Davis Cup triumph in December but that only partially made up for the disappointment of surrendering his Wimbledon crown in an extraordinary first-round defeat by Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

Hewitt's compatriot and Wimbledon runner-up, Mark Philippoussis, was the hero of the nation's 28th Davis Cup triumph in Melbourne, where they beat Spain 3-1.

He bravely overcame a painful chest injury to win the decisive rubber against Ferrero, although the fact that the final was staged on grass, a surface Spain's players detest, devalued Australia's victory.

The women's Fed Cup was won in Moscow by France, thanks principally to the efforts of Amelie Mauresmo.

Martina Navratilova, well into her fourth decade of top-level tennis, showed no sign of gathering moss.

Described by Frenchman Guy Forget as the Mick Jagger of tennis, she won the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, played in the Fed Cup final for the United States and this year, at the age of 47, hopes to compete for Olympic gold in Athens.

- REUTERS