Women's Tennis Fans...A Shocker

[tishaLA]

So the comeback is still happening for Martina Hingis. She just DESTROYED the grunting Russian, Miss Sharapova, in an hour and six minutes, 6-3, 6-1 in the semi of the Toray Pan Pacific. Most shocking of all? Sharapova never had a break point against Hingis.

People will keep talking about how weak Hingis is, I'm sure, but it shows she can neutralize those Bolletieri-trained seals. They can only do one thing: hit hard from the baseline. Hingis, with her all-court game, can do many things to make up for what she doesn't do well.

Congratulations, Chucky!

[Awsi Dooger]

1. Yeah, but what were they wearing?

Chucky used to hate it when doubles partner Miss Kournikova upstaged her in the looks and skirts department. As far as I know this was her first matchup with the new glamour queen so that had to be tense.

[joeybee12]

2. I just saw that...I am shocked

Thought Hingis could win, but that it would be close. I wonder if this means the end of Maria--she hasn't really broken through. There are times when she really plays well, but then she gets wiped out. I read someone call her style of play "unimaginative." I think that pretty much sums it up--all hard hitting, never mixes it up.

[Awsi Dooger]

3. Sharapova definitely has a limited game

Just bangs the ball and hopes that will be enough. Whenever I watch her play it looks like a perennial top 5 player but not special enough to win many Slams, unless the other top players have already been eliminated or are not at their best. Last year when she played Venus in the semis at Wimbledon it was Venus who was the aggressor throughout and Sharapova had no clue how to change things up. Plus that was Venus not at her most confident or best. When they blasted from the baseline Venus always looked much more dangerous and the result seemed inevitable to me.

[joeybee12]

4. Yeah, she can hit the ball really hard, and when she's "in the zone"

so to speak, she's pretty tough, but as you said, can't figure out how to change things when they're going tough.

BTW, Elena routed Hingis--so her comeback might not be all that impressive. A few more tournaments will tell.

[tishaLA]

5. Nobody expects Federer like dominance from Hingis

It's likely that she'll be spotty for a while. I am a huge fan and I never expected to see her handle Sharapova the way she did. I even downloaded the match to see whether the destruction was as bad as the stories made it. It was.

Yesterday, if you read the stats, Hingis had a bad, bad day. Served at only 48%, didn't return well, etc. I also think Dementiava, who has never lost to Hingis, just matches up well against her, just as Nalbandian matches up well against Federer. And I think the emotional investment she had in beating Sharapova might have affected her play, too.

C'est la vie. Martina has been back for only a month now. I'm glad she's bringing something to the women's game it's been missing and I hope she continues with her strong showings. A quarterfinal in a major and a final in a tier one is very very good with her limited match experience.

[joeybee12]

6. Actually, Elena and Martina were 2-2 head-to-head prior to

yesterday's match. But you're right, it'll take a few more tournaments and play against top players to see how she really stacks up.

What I really hate, though, are the headlines blaring "Hingis Loses" Did it over yesterday's match, as well as her loss to Kim at the Aussie. Actually, Elenea won, and prior to that, Kim won. It pisses me off--she's not the only player on the women's tour.

[tishaLA]

7. I'm glad for women's tennis being in the headlines

Hingis has brought a spark of interest back to the women's game. Let's face it: Lindsay is a very good player, but not particularly compelling. The same is true of Clijsters. The Williams sisters are a mess, Henin-Hardenne is known, if she is known at all, for her real or perceived lack of sportsmanship as much as she is for her backhand.

Like it or not, the game right now needs a story like Hingis as much as it needs a Sharapova. People love comebacks stories, like they did with the drug-addled, cheeseburger-eating Capriati a few years ago. And, while people cringe at martina's impolitic comments, they are somehow better than the safe answers we hear in most press conferences.

And you were right about their record! Yikes. Dementieva was Martina's last match--a loss--before her retirement started....

[erpowers]

12. The Williams Sisters

What do you mean by saying the Williams sisters are a mess?

[Awsi Dooger]

8. Gad, Hingis lost 6-2, 6-0

No, I'm hardly comparing her to Federer, who can either hit it past you or beat you via superior strategy. Hingis' game just never thrilled me, not coming after the Navratilova/Graf eras plus Monica Seles until the stabbing incident. IMO, all three were markedly superior to Hingis and her glorified backboard.

It will be interesting to see if Hingis' comeback inspires the Williams sisters. If they're fit and interested they'll still kick her butt.

[tishaLA]

9. The Williams sisters, I think,

Came along at the right time: when Martina had been weakened by injury. They had much more power than her, to be sure, but their consistency was always suspect; they were like Betty Stove compared to Navratilova. They were never Graf, Seles, or Hingis....just a flash that lasted gloriously for a couple years and then grew lazy and, in Serena's case, overweight. If only Hingis hadn't hurt her ankles. If only Seles hadn't been stabbed. If only Billie Jean King didn't have all those knee injuries at a time when arthroscopic surgery kept a player out for nine months.

As I said, I'm just happy women's tennis is producing discussions again. If it takes Chucky's comeback, or Capriati's, I don't care.

[joeybee12]

10. I don't think I agree with your assessment of the Williams sisters...

when each dominated, their consistency was never suspect--they were unbeatable because they had great games and were "in the zone" for lack of a better term. True, each only had about 2 years of invincibility, but they definitely had consistency.

We're in a strange time in women's tennis--lots of players at the top, which is good, but no real story, especially no American story. Lindsey will never win another one--2004 to mid-2005 was her time, and she couldn't pull it off. Serena and Venus won't come back again--they both did once, but twice is too hard now that the other women have come up. Until someone else comes along, the media will hype Martina's comeback.

[erpowers]

13. Wrong About Williams Sisters

I think you are wrong about the Williams sisters. They were really good players. I think if Serena wants to make a real comeback she could go on a real winning streak and beat Hingis. I think Venus is still good; however, I think her stomach injuries may have hurt her to a point where she may not be able to completely come back.

[Awsi Dooger]

14. I don't see the Betty Stove comparison

She was tall and powerful but a very limited athlete, completely unlike the Williams sisters. Virginia Wade was very fortunate to face Stove in that Wimbledon final. I'll always believe a legit top woman would have beaten Wade.

I didn't root for the Williams sisters but I'm hardly discounting how talented they were at their peak. Remember, Serena's GOAL a few years ago was to go unbeaten for a calendar year and it was hardly unthinkable, the way she was playing. You don't make a statement like that without surreal ability. She would routinely spot Capriati the first set then beat her.

But you could always tell Serena had the frame to be huge so I'm hardly surprised at her current weight problem. This may sound cruel, but the first time I saw Serena I told my friends in the sportsbook that the over/under on her eventual weight was 400 pounds. They laughed like hell and one guy labeled her the "400 pound butt." So now members of that same group of friends will often ask me, "hey is the 400 pound butt going to make a comeback?"

[tishaLA]

15. The Stove thing was hyperbole

I do that sometimes. ;)

ETA: Oh and it's great to know that someone else knows who Betty is--and that old Ginny beat her in that 77 final! Now I know it's safe to crack Francoise Durr and Wendy Turnbull jokes, too!

[Awsi Dooger]

16. I was more of a Sue Barker fan...

But my favorite was Evonne Goolagong, the Paul Warfield of tennis, so graceful despite the dreaded walkabouts.

Wow, a Francoise Durr reference! That might be a first on DU. I can't go back to her prime but I do remember someone asked me about her on another website once and I summarized, "a dumpy little doubles player."

[tishaLA]

17. I loved Evonne

I remember when she ruptured her Achilles, I think, at Wimbledon in 79 (?)--was it against Tracy Austin, maybe? I can't quite recall. I thought she was beautiful and she played with amazing grace.

She was teaching pro at a place in Hilton Head, NC when I was young and I went to her tennis camp. I didn't learn too much, but I got to be around Evonne. She, Billie Jean, and Navratilova were always my faves. Strange trio, that.

[joeybee12]

18. Walkabouts! Haven't heard that word in years!

She was incredibly talented, and should have dominated for quite some time, but those walkabouts killed her.

As for Virginia Wade, she caught Chris Evert on a really bad day (man troubles, you know) in the semis that year. And then Betty Stove took a set from her in the final--she was lucky, but a win's a win.

[joeybee12]

11. I doubt the Williams sisters will come back ...

...once is one thing, twice is another thing. It would be good for the game, but I don't see it happening.

Venus was always a more powerful player than Hinigs, but Martina seemed to have her number. Serena was another story--she seemed to have Martina's number!