Hingis, who will also be 34 this year, was ladies’ singles champion in 1997 and a doubles champion here too, with Helena Sukova in 1996 and Jana Novotna in 1998.
Who can forget that brief but intense era when she was queen of the drop shot followed by the cannily placed lob? After that run of three trophy-winning years, Hingis had a hideous 1999 on the grass courts in London SW19 – shockingly humiliated in the first round by Jelena Dokic just weeks after a bizarre meltdown in the French Open final (when a set and a break up against Steffi Graf, she crossed the net to query a call, met with derision from the Parisian crowd and went into emotional freefall). After that, the Czech-born star – named after a certain other distinguished Martina – never reached another Grand Slam final. She has had several retirements and comebacks, due to injury and even a two-year drug ban, so let’s salute her first appearance in a Wimbledon main draw since 2007, when she lost to Laura Granville in the third round of the singles. Granted a wild card by the All England Club for the women's doubles, things could get nicely, er, theatrical, as well as technically appealing, as Hingis’s partner is the famously emotional Vera Zvonareva.
The pairing bodes well for entertainment – though they will have to beat No. 4 seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza to thrill crowds beyond today. During her previous nine Wimbledon visits, Hingis provided many a cameo for tennis fans. She made her debut in 2005, a cute girl with a huge smile to match a precocious talent. Over the next few years, she and her coach/mother, Melanie Molitor, became photographers’ favourites as they warmed up on Courts 4, 5 or 6. With her metronomic, practically error-free two-handed backhand and clever tactical play, Hingis’s presence on court was often a catalyst for a mesmerising match at a time when the power game threatened to remove nuance and subtlety.
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