From the Sidelines: The return of power tennis?

By Thomas Cheng

The 12th of October may have marked the beginning of a new era in women's tennis. On that momentous day, Lindsay Davenport began her reign as the top-ranked player on the professional tour, dethroning Martina Hingis after Hingis fell to Belgian challenger Dominique van Roost in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix Tournament in Filderstadt, Germany.

NEWSMAKERS Martina Hingis' drop from the No. 1 ranking on the pro tour heralded a move toward the power game.

Hingis' play in 1997 was so dominant that her stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking seemed almost untouchable. She lost a total of five matches and amassed more than 70 victories throughout the entire season. She was only one match away from achieving the legendary Grand Slam, winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in one season. Not since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Steffi Graf and Monica Seles were in their prime, had one player dominated women's tennis so completely. By the early part of this year, though, the once-invincible Hingis started to show signs of vulnerability. By the close of the U.S Open in September, many could sense that a fall was imminent.

How did this rapid fall from grace happen? It is not easy to pinpoint how Hingis customarily wins her matches. Unlike her predecessors, she has no signature weapon. Graf had her deadly serve and forehand, and Seles her powerful groundstrokes off both wings. Unlike Graf and Seles, power has never been one of Hingis' strengths. Instead, she has always relied on her all-court game, her anticipation, and her clever choice of shots. Hingis has the uncanny ability to neutralize her opponents' power with her consistency and versatility. For tennis fans who have grown tired of watching two baseline huggers outhitting each other, Hingis' exciting style is a delightful break from power tennis.

When Hingis took over the top spot on the women's tour from Graf, it seemed that for the first time in more than a decade, finesse had triumphed over power. In comparison to Hingis' resourceful all-court game, Graf's and Seles' repertoires were one-dimensional at best. Although both players lacked versatility, they more than compensated with their raw power. Their success was widely emulated around the world and their powerful baseline game was touted as the only possible route to success in women's tennis.

As a precocious teenager ready to challenge the established order, Hingis came along and showed the tour that she could actually win without the firepower of Graf or Seles. She could win by taking the ball earlier, by getting to her opponent's shots sooner, and simply by outthinking her opponent. Chris Evert, the American tennis legend of the '80s, once described Hingis as the smartest female player to have ever set foot on a tennis court.

This fairy tale took a different turn in the beginning of this year. In the second round of the Sydney International, Hingis lost to Venus Williams, a player whose game consisted of a powerful serve and some even more powerful groundstrokes--but not much else. Hingis was overpowered, defeated by a player whom she had thoroughly beaten in the final of the 1997 U.S. Open. Hingis' loss to Williams was a cruel wake-up call to tennis fans who believed that her finesse game could not be overpowered.

Hingis went on to lose 11 additional matches this year to a variety of powerful players and failed to defend her Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. She has become the first No. 1 player ever to lose so many matches in a season. It took a player as talented as Hingis to fracture the domination of power tennis. As manufacturing companies such as Prince and Wilson continue to use space-age technologyto produce more potent racquets, however, it is clear that power tennis is here to stay.

Even Hingis herself must have realized that in order to reestablish her domination and keep pace with players as strong as Davenport and Williams, she may be forced to build her power and increase her physical strength.

With Davenport's ascent to the pinnacle of the women's ranks, there can be little doubt that the beginning of yet another era of power tennis has dawned.

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