JOIN US'Open the door to young stars'
If last year’s Australian Open saw Stanislas Wawrinka finally realise his Grand Slam dream, this season witnessed the resurrection of a fellow Swiss star.
Primed to conquer the world of women’s tennis towards the end of the last century, Martina Hingis was forced to call time on her career temporarily at a prime age of 22 in 2002. The then 14-time Grand Slam champion (five singles and nine doubles) did attempt a comeback in late 2005 only to be stopped in her track within two years. However, Hingis, whose mother nurtured her tennis ambitions while she was in the womb, decided to give another shot in 2014.
Last month, she won her second mixed doubles crown after pairing up with Leander Paes, a victory that has reignited her ambitions. In a chat with Deccan Herald on Friday, arranged by Champions Tennis League, the Swiss spoke about the win, her partnership with Sania Mirza and the current state of women’s tennis. Excerpts...
How does it feel to be a Grand Slam champion again?
It was amazing to be holding a Grand Slam trophy with Leander (Paes). Like I said at the (presentation) ceremony, I didn’t imagine in the wildest of my dreams that I would win a Grand Slam title again. It was great moment when we won the match point.
Are you going to continue playing with Paes. If yes, what target have you set?Yes, we will continue playing together. We decided that no matter what happens in the final, we will play the season together if everything goes well. The target, of course, is try winning as many titles as we could.
Just few days back Sania Mirza announced that she would be pairing up with you. How did the deal come about and can you throw some light on the partnership?
We know each other well because we have played against each other. I was playing with my partner while she found a new partner at the start of the season. But both of us couldn’t reach the targets that we set out for. We will play for the next couple of events and then take a call on the future. We’ve never played together and we need to start getting comfortable with each other. We also need to get good results under our belt.
Though events like CTL, we Indians got to some greats of the game. Your thoughts... It’s a great opportunity to spread tennis. Cricket is the most popular game in your country and through this way people will be able to see some of the top names. India has had great players in the past, like the Krishnans, the Amritraj brothers, Leander and Mahesh as well as Sania. You have a lot of talented players and they deserve lot of opportunities. You have such wonderful stadiums; back home in Switzerland you just have one stadium. The remaining ones are just convention centres that are converted into tennis courts. You were not only a great singles player but an exceptional doubles player. How did you manage to stay in top form in both?I really enjoyed playing doubles. Like they say it takes two to tango, doubles is really great. At one point I played with Anna Kournikova and it was great fun. In doubles it’s about partnership, camaraderie and understanding.
Nowadays, the focus is primarily on singles. Doubles becomes an option only if one is not able to excel in singles...
Game has got more physical and very demanding. Every round has become very tough. The schedule is comparatively easier in Grand Slams but in WTA it’s very hectic. There is not much recovery as the tournament gets over within a week. Playing singles and doubles week after week is just not possible.
Your comeback is moving in the right direction. With Olympics set for next year, are you targetting Rio?Since I play only doubles, I will keep the door open. We have the Fed Cup and I would see how the team develops.
You have two Grand Slam champions in Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer. Who do you want pair up with?(Laughs). With Roger, I’ve already won the Hopman Cup in 2001 with him. So, my pick would be Roger.
You were one of the last teenage prodigies to come through in women’s tennis. Currently not many teenagers are able shake the established order. Why?I think this is because of the rule that restricts a player until she turns 18. We have a lot of junior champions who are stuck because they are not allowed to play the big tournaments. I started to play in top tournaments at 15 and 16 which really helped me. In America you are allowed to drive a car at 16 but not allowed to play in professional sport. I feel at 16 when a girl is accomplished, she should be free to play and not wait until 18. That two-year gap breaks the evolution.
What do you think of the current crop in women’s tennis?There is a good group of young players like (Eugenie) Bouchard. She had a very good last year. There is also (Belinda) Bencica and (Garbine) Muguruza who hold very good promise. (Simona) Halep has been threatening to win a Grand Slam, (Caroline) Wozniacki has been there for a while. Madison Keys too looks very good. I feel the future of women’s tennis is spread out wide.