Hingis Out but Maybe Not Down
Martina Hingis' three-set loss to Ai Sugiyama (4-6 in the third) was both baffling and instructive, in terms of Hingis' comeback (actually, let's face it, she's back).
At no point in the third, mainly because she was up 3-0 with TWO breaks in hand, did I think Hingis was going to drop the match. But somehow, she did. Her concentration seemed to waver, even when she was dominating rallies. Sugiyama is a tough opponent for her: She hangs in there and looks to blast a backhand. Hingis has molded her comeback to deal with the power hitters. Boom! She runs into a retriever who keeps making her construct and reconstruct points, and then out of nowhere cracks a tough ball. And thus, frustration for the Swiss Miss.
Hingis can't really end a point with one shot, as the commentators pointed out. Unfortunately, in grass, this means she not getting any cheap points, and the name of the game at Wimbly, on both men's and women's side, is cheap points. Hingis plays beautifully, but until she develops I would say a better first serve, she's going to struggle to work her way through to the second week at Wimbledon.
There is plenty of time for this, of course. She is beginning to look a lot less slight, as if she's trying to add some upper-body mass, I'm assuming so she can power through more balls, add some heft to her shots to go along with her mesmerizing touch. Interestingly, I see a sort of Martina Navratilova aspect to this. Navratilova transformed her body halfway through her career and went on to become the best women's players of all time. Hingis might not be able to take it Navratilova levels, but she could borrow a page from Agassi's training book and strengthen her upper body.
The US Open is a bit of a toss-up. Maybe she'll be more focused there, ready to play every match rather than thinking too far ahead.
At no point in the third, mainly because she was up 3-0 with TWO breaks in hand, did I think Hingis was going to drop the match. But somehow, she did. Her concentration seemed to waver, even when she was dominating rallies. Sugiyama is a tough opponent for her: She hangs in there and looks to blast a backhand. Hingis has molded her comeback to deal with the power hitters. Boom! She runs into a retriever who keeps making her construct and reconstruct points, and then out of nowhere cracks a tough ball. And thus, frustration for the Swiss Miss.
Hingis can't really end a point with one shot, as the commentators pointed out. Unfortunately, in grass, this means she not getting any cheap points, and the name of the game at Wimbly, on both men's and women's side, is cheap points. Hingis plays beautifully, but until she develops I would say a better first serve, she's going to struggle to work her way through to the second week at Wimbledon.
There is plenty of time for this, of course. She is beginning to look a lot less slight, as if she's trying to add some upper-body mass, I'm assuming so she can power through more balls, add some heft to her shots to go along with her mesmerizing touch. Interestingly, I see a sort of Martina Navratilova aspect to this. Navratilova transformed her body halfway through her career and went on to become the best women's players of all time. Hingis might not be able to take it Navratilova levels, but she could borrow a page from Agassi's training book and strengthen her upper body.
The US Open is a bit of a toss-up. Maybe she'll be more focused there, ready to play every match rather than thinking too far ahead.
posted by Matthew DeBord at 3:37 PM
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