Hingis to face Capriati in the final again
When Martina Hingis lost last year's final here to Jennifer Capriati, it appeared her brilliant but flickering flame had been all but snuffed out by the mighty rushing wind of the power hitters. Now she is back there again, for her sixth Australian final running, facing the same opponent tomorrow with real hope because Capriati has come through nursing a hip injury.
Melbourne is Hingis's most successful grand slam stage. She won in 1997 as a 16-year-old, her first grand slam title, and that year was champion at Wimbledon and the US Open too. But any thoughts of a protracted dominance were soon extinguished.
Though she won the next two Australian titles, her vic tory over France's Amélie Mauresmo three years ago was the last of her five grand slam titles. Lindsay Davenport beat her in the 2000 final and since then the Williams sisters Venus and Serena, together with Davenport and a resurgent Capriati, have left the multi-talented but comparatively small Hingis struggling to compete physically,especially when she has had to play them one after another.
By the beginning of this year, after ankle surgery, she had slipped to world No4 and there seemed no reason to suppose she would break the dominance. No matter how hard she worked on her fitness, her all-court game, with its emphasis on angles and changes of pace, appeared under terminal threat at the highest level.
Though she has retained the capacity to see off lesser talent with almost contemptuous ease, her vulnerability against sheer power had become so pronounced, it seemed, that only a peculiar set of circumstances could lead to another grand slam title. Yet here she is, in the final without having to face any of the big hitters.
Davenport was missing at the start because of injury. Then Serena Williams, originally in Hingis's half of the draw, as was Venus, pulled out on the first Monday without playing a match. Finally, as Venus loomed for the semi- final, Monica Seles beat her in the quarters, which leaves only Capriati remaining.
Yesterday Seles, seeking her 10th grand slam title and her first since the Australian in 1996, suffered a severe let-down. The Swiss won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, surviving a minor scare when, having raced to 5-1 in the final set, she could not at once close out the match.
In last year's final Capriati won in straight sets. It was her first grand slam title and a seminal moment in her career. After all her early promise, when she reached the semi- finals of Wimbledon and the US Open as a 15-year-old in 1991, her young life spiralled out of control, almost to the point of sporting oblivion.
Hingis, though, was not only consumed by Capriati's more powerful hitting but also by the denouement of a story that cried out for a happy ending. After several attempted comebacks Capriati finally triumphed in heart-warming fashion against Hingis, then went on to double her joy by winning the French Open. She is now world No1.
In yesterday's semi-final she beat Kim Clijsters 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. On the face of it she should beat Hingis again. However, she appeared very weary after her battle with the 18-year-old Belgian, whom she narrowly defeated in last year's final at Roland Garros.
At the end of the second set the American was fading fast whereas Clijsters, watched by her boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt, was on her toes. The first game of the third set, with Capriati serving, was crucial and the American might have trailed 0-40 if one shot, which clearly fell beyond the baseline, had been called out. She still had a break point against her at 30-40 but clung on and it was Clijsters who folded.
There was no disguising the pain the American was feeling afterwards, though, the stiff movement and subdued mood. "I was a little scared to overdo it out there," she admitted. "We'll see how I am on Saturday but I'm certainly not 100% fit." A day's rest may help but, should Capriati not be fully fit, Hingis may gain her revenge.
In the first men's semi-final Sweden's Thomas Johansson, the No16 seed, defeated Jiri Novak, unseeded, of the Czech Republic 7-6, 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and now meets the winner of today's match between Russia's Marat Safin and Germany's Tommy Haas.
· A swallow was given the last rites by Julien Boutter after it was killed chasing a moth across court at the Australian Open yesterday. The ball, hit by Michael Llodra's forehand in an all-French men's doubles semi-final, killed it instantly. Besides the moth the winners were Llodra and Fabrice Santoro, who beat Arnaud Clément and Boutter 6-3, 3-6, 12-10.
Hingis v Capriati: head to head
Year/ Tournament/ Surface/ Round/ Winner
1997 Sydney Hard F Hingis
1998 Hamburg Clay QF Hingis
1999 Filderstadt Hard Last 16 Hingis
2000 's-Hertogenbosch Grass SF Hingis
2000 Zurich Hard SF Hingis
2001 Australian Open Hard F Capriati
2001 Charleston Clay F Capriati
2001 French Open Clay SF Capriati