LONDON - Perhaps more than any other tournament, the French Open offers former world No 1 Martina Hingis the chance to make up for past shortcomings.
The experiences of the 25-year-old Swiss, back after a three-year break from the game, of Roland Garros have always been tinged with disappointment, and
on one notable occasion, tears and a temper tantrum.
The latter occurred in 1999 when she stormed off in a huff after losing to Steffi Graf 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the final.
Hingis broke tennis etiquette by crossing the net to complain about a line call, served underarm on match point and had to be coaxed back on to the court by her mother for the trophy presentation.
Despite not having won the singles title, Hingis' record at Roland Garros is no cause for shame.
In her last five French Open appearances she reached the semifinals three times and the final twice.
She would dearly love to fill that remaining gap in her trophy cabinet, although Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday, may have come just a little too soon for her.
However, last weekend's victory at the Italian Open, Hingis' first title since she returned to the tour, showed that she might yet pull it off.
Hingis has now won 31 matches this year, second only on the tour to Russian Nadia Petrova with 33. Rome was the five-time Grand Slam winner's 41st WTA title and she has risen from 349 in the rankings in January to 14.
"So far I've been playing very good tennis and I'm getting better every match," she said.
"My game is almost up there with when I was number one in the world but there are still some improvements to make."
Her resurgence has won her some elite admirers, not least compatriot and men's world number one Roger Federer.
"I'm very impressed. Here she is, [in the] top 15 after five months. She breaks all the records she sets herself. She doesn't just say, she does it too," Federer said at the Laureus awards this week. Hingis' return was named comeback of the year.
The perceived wisdom is that Hingis departed once it became clear she was struggling to live with the new breed of power-hitters, led by the Williams sisters Venus and Serena.
On her return this year, her lack of a powerful serve was highlighted as a lingering weakness.
However, Hingis has beaten top players including Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport.
"Now with winning ... [in Rome], I know that I can do it again," said Hingis.
- REUTERS
LONDON - Perhaps more than any other tournament, the French Open offers former world No 1 Martina Hingis the chance to make up for past shortcomings.
The experiences of the 25-year-old Swiss, back after a three-year break from the game, of Roland Garros have always been tinged with disappointment, and
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.