| Can Hingis Break Davenport's Streak? | |
Dateline: 03/23/00
As they shook hands and walked toward the umpire's chair at the end of Saturday's final at Indian Wells, I was struck by how small Martina Hingis looked next to Lindsay Davenport. The effect may have been enhanced by the context: Martina Hingis hasn't won a match against Davenport in their last five encounters, not since November of 1998.
Martina did manage to win the first set 6-4 on Saturday, and she had a 4-2 lead in the second, but once Lindsay found her range, Martina was done for. Lindsay took the second set 6-4, then the third, 6-0. In the third set, Davenport was pounding the ball into the deep corners with devastating accuracy. Hingis fought hard, trying to scramble her way out of trouble, but it seemed as if Davenport's shots were flying through thin mountain air while Hingis was returning them underwater.
Hingis still holds the number-one ranking, but she has many more points to defend this spring than does Davenport, for whom this part of last year was a slump. Hingis will have a hard time hanging on, but one factor that will help her is the upcoming prevalence of clay court tournaments. Clay will soften Davenport's power, which might give Hingis enough time to set up on some shots and generate some offense.
One thing Martina Hingis does extremely well is think. My guess is that she's thinking of some of the following tactics to try to break Davenport's hold on her:
- Use an extremely low, skidding slice like Jana Novotna's to force Lindsay to reach (way) down for the ball.
- Use more serves that curve into Lindsay's body, making those long arms a liability because of the distance she'll have to move out of the way to take a normal swing.
- Mix paces and spins to try to throw off Lindsay's timing. With the power Lindsay produces, it takes only a tiny timing error to send the ball long or into the net.
- Improve her already very good angle shots to try to get Lindsay on the run more. If Martina can get Lindsay running, hitting behind her will be particularly effective.
- Take advantage of being relatively small by becoming incredibly quick, or at least as quick as she can be. Making Lindsay hit a few extra shots per game will give her more chances to miss. This will be especially effective if Lindsay starts going for too much.
- Develop more powerful serves. Mixing these with spins might help keep Lindsay from finding a groove on the returns.
- Take Lindsay's serves earlier, using the incoming speed to generate much of the power of the return and giving Lindsay less time to react.
I hasten to say that I'm not rooting against Lindsay at all. She seems a highly likeable individual, and I admire the fact that she has developed considerable finesse to go along with her power. I like much about Martina's personality, too (with considerable reservations), but I especially like the intelligence and creativity with which she plays. It will be fascinating to see whether her remarkable mind can elevate her game to the rarefied level at which Lindsay now resides.
Do you think Hingis can pull it off? Let us know at the tennis forum.
