Fast forward 17 years and Williams, now 33, is still causing headaches for the Swiss camp; the 27th-seeded American turning in an impressive display to put Bencic in her place 6-4 6-1 in the opening round at Roland Garros.
Naturally the next Swiss protégé, under the part-time tutelage of Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor, would draw on the star Swiss family’s advice for taking on the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
“Yeah, of course. [Martina’s] mother gave me most of the tips and also Martina gave me some tips,” the world No.80 said.
“I won the juniors last year [Hingis was also a junior French Open champion], and it was really great. I was looking very forward to this tournament, so I was very happy to play on the big court.”
Williams secured the pivotal break of the first set when the young Swiss player dumped a backhand into the net for 5-3.
The nerves, which often creep into a veteran player’s game, struck the elder stateswoman when serving for the opening set, with the fearless teenager whipping a backhand crosscourt winner to secure the break before faltering again on serve with a poorly controlled volley and another backhand error to hand the American the first set after 46 minutes. Racing to a 4-0 lead in the second set, Williams was cruising towards Round 2 before a minor hiccup saw her falter on serve.
It was a brief rally from the Swiss teenager. Williams would break once more, with a big forehand down the line on match point giving rise to a beaming smile. “I'm just trying to hopefully stay alive myself as an older player,” Williams grinned afterwards.
It moved the American to within one victory of potentially renewing another great rivalry, against her sister Serena. It would be the 25th installment in that rivalry.
Serena leads that one 14-10.
“I think we both know we have to play even better because it’s against each other,” Williams said. Hailed as the pair to have revolutionised the modern women’s game, Williams reflected on what the sisters had brought to the table. “Yeah, I think there have been a lot of changes when Serena and I started playing. Really, it's been an honor to be part of a change in tennis,” she said. “When we started out, I don't think we had those goals. But to become something greater than what you can do for yourself has been just I think a real honor for both of us.”
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