When she made a sudden return to the tour last summer, the world was kinda expecting Martina Hingis to pick up right where she left off when she quit several years ago. I too was among the optimists who envisioned her winning one Grand Slam and after. It wasn't quite a smooth transition though, and the former world No.1 failed to win back-to-back matches in the five tournaments she played alongside Slovak Daniela Hantuchova. Visible hurt by her misfortune, the Swiss Miss decided to skip the Asian swing, casting shadow on the future of her comeback.
Nothing much was heard on this matter until a few weeks ago when Hingis entered Indian Wells with her new trainee, German Sabine Lisicki. The duo once again faced a difficult draw and subsequently were beaten first round by three-time Grand Slam finalists, Aussies Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. It was all about to change big time in Miami, where the two caught fire.
Again, the draw was harsh. In their opener, Hingis and Liscki faced 6th-seeded Czechs, Lucie Hradecka and Lucie Safarova. Compared to previous encounters, the magic kicked in this time. They won the battle pretty easily to record their first victory together 6-1,6-4. After a quick dismal of Romanian Sorana Cirstea and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the dream team showed tremendous fighting spirit, surviving seven match points to eventually battle past unseeded duo Medina-Garriguez/Shvedova. This triumph marked the turned point for Hingis. Relieved to have finally won one of these thrillers, the Swiss Miss was able to fully display the stunning tennis that won her the world. Fired up by Lisicki's gusty shot-making, Martina put together a majestic display to lift the 38th doubles career title. It wasn't easy though, but they made it happen. After stopping red-hot Cara Black and Sania Mirza in the semis, the duo came from behind to defeat reigning Roland Garros champions, Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, 4-6,6-4,10-5 to claim the title.
Needless to say it's great to have Martina back on the court. I just hope that this triumph gives her confidence to continue and, why not, maybe even consider a singles return. Asked about her plans, she gave an encouraging answer: "Well, I think two weeks ago if you asked me that question, it would probably be a completely different answer from today! Last week, I was like, 'I'm not sure if I want to put myself out there like this and lose first, second round.' But now, after this victory, definitely things have changed. I would be very happy to continue to play some more doubles."
It's also nice to see such a beautiful relationship developing between Hingis and Lisicki. Hopefully, Hingis, who is also training the German, can help Sabine fulfill her huge potential by improving her mental strength and on-court focus. This duo really seems a match made in heaven and I look forward to seeing more from these two lovely ladies in the near future. A first Grand Slam would be a nice objective for this duo! Let's do some magic, Hingis!
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| The Swiss Miss is back! My all-time darling rekindled her magic in Miami claiming her 38th doubles title alongside German Sabine Lisicki. Hingis came out of retirement last summer, but failed to win back-to-back matches until this week. |
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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