Hingis Comeback?

[Quiet Speed]

A little bit of note worthy news here. Martina was a great little tennis player and came very very close to winning a Grand Slam.


The press, in my opinion, became hostile toward her or at least disrespectful. It could be that she delayed, somewhat, the rise of the Williams sisters. And, when the father, Richard Williams, would pop off (which he was prone to do) she would reply with something to the effect that he should shut up. Probably not the best way to ingratiate yourself with our pro black media.





Hingis set for comeback
30/01/2005 19:00 - (SA)


Pattaya - Five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis returns to competitive tennis after more than two years on the sidelines when she takes to the court in this week's US$170,000 (130,418) WTA Volvo Women's Open.


Kept away from tennis with a severe ankle injury since 2002, Hingis launches her comeback campaign on Tuesday against German Marlene Weingartner in the first round of the tournament.


Continued -
[url]http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/More_Sport/0,,2-9-32_1654 768,00.html[/url]





http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/More_Sport/0,,2-9-32_1654768,00.html

 

[sunshine]

It would be nice to see Hingis back on the courts.She has a classy game.

 

[Don Wassall]

I was always a fan of hers. Unlike the original, burly Martina (Navratilova), Hingis was disliked by the media because she was feminine, liked boys, and said some politically incorrect things. She is pretty and isn't muscular and was winning majors during the rise of the manly Williams sisters and I think that was another reason she was often criticized and ridiculed.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Nice try Martina!


A return from a two year lay off and two ankles surgeries had to be difficult. By all accounts, she handled the situation with class and dignity.

 

[Don Wassall]

A pretty good article on Martina. I'd love to see her playing Maria Sharapova in the finals of a major this year. The American media has always disliked Hingis, which is another reason to root for her.


[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/aus06/news/story?id= 2297778[/url]

 

[guest301]

I would love to see Hingis win or at least advance to the semi-finals. I still think shotmaking, strategy and constructing a point should still be a part of tennis.Plus she is the one lady who didn't let the williams sisters intimidate her and she held her own against them and their power game.

 

[Southern Knight]

Ms. Hingis sealed her fate in the caste system when, during a , she referred to butch-lesbian Amelie Mauresmo as "half a man" during a post-match interview. That sort of thing just doesn't fly with the American media (which ain't American at all, if you get my drift).

 

[onewarrior5]

I was always a fan of hers. Unlike the original, burly Martina (Navratilova), Hingis was disliked by the media because she was feminine, liked boys, and said some politically incorrect things. She is pretty and isn't muscular and was winning majors during the rise of the manly Williams sisters and I think that was another reason she was often criticized and ridiculed.

exactly

.I couldnt of said it any better.

 

[Don Wassall]

I like this headline

:
<H1>Hingis rallies past Venus in Italian Open semis</H1>
<DIV =bylinetext>Associated Press

<DIV style="FLOAT: right">http://log.go.com/log?srvc=sz&amp;g...;source=ESPN_ROS_146x46_BaseballGetScoresLink


<BR clear=all>
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ROME -- Martina Hingis rallied to beat Venus Williams 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday and reach the Italian Open final.



<DIV =phinline>

<DIV style="WIDTH: 195px">
<DIV =photocred2>AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
<DIV =photosubtext>Hingis will be looking for her first title since returning from injury.





Hingis is seeking her first title since returning in January, after missing nearly three years with foot and ankle injuries. The Swiss player will face Dinara Safina, who beat fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.


Hingis improved to 11-10 against Williams, her first win over the American since the 2001 Australian Open semifinals. She beat Williams in the 1998 Italian Open final, and Williams won in the semifinals in 1999.


"It's amazing. I played her in the semifinals [seven] years ago," Hingis said. "It's a great moment for me, I'm happy to be in another final."


Williams beat Hingis in Warsaw two weeks ago and looked as though she was on her way to another victory with a first-set shutout that lasted 22 minutes.


"In the first set, I felt like I was going to cry. I was just missing every shot," Hingis said.


After Hingis held serve to even the second set at 1-1 and finally win a game, the crowd applauded sarcastically.


Hingis broke serve on the next game when Williams hit a forehand long and broke twice more to take the set. Both players held serve until Hingis broke to lead 5-3 in the third and then served out the match with ease as Williams made several errors.


Williams said she has "nothing to show and nothing to prove" at the French Open.


"I just have to go out there and work just as hard as the next person, that's what it takes," Williams said. "I feel like I've done that before at the French, and I just kind of lost to that other Williams sister. That happens."


Venus Williams lost to sister Serena in the 2002 Roland Garros final.



<DIV =phinline>

<DIV style="WIDTH: 275px">
<DIV =photocred2>Julian Finney/Getty Images
<DIV =photosubtext>Hingis will face Safina in the event's final.





Safina -- the younger sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin -- took 2 hours, 33 minutes to beat Kuznetsova.


"I didn't expect it when I saw the draw here and [Kim] Clijsters in the third round," Safina said. "But I beat her, then I beat [Elena] Dementieva. All my dreams are coming true."


Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, won five straight games to close out the first set after trailing 3-1. After trading early breaks in the second set, Safina lined up a service return winner to go up 5-4 and then held serve with a backhand winner to end a long rally on her first set point.


Safina served for the match twice in the final set. On her first opportunity, she double-faulted to hand Kuznetsova a break and draw even to 5-5. Safina then broke back and served out the match.


"It was really a battle. In the second set I was down and I just said to myself, 'Play point by point,' and it went my way today," Safina said.


The Italian Open is a clay-court tuneup for the French Open, which starts May 28.


[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=245188 2[/url]</TD></TR></T></TABLE>

 

[KG2422]

That's awesome! I'm glad to see her beat Venus. I remember when the Williams sisters came onto the scene, when Hingis was the No.1 in the world. They had some verbal jabs with each other in the media ,and she's never backed down from them. I can't help but like her.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Way to go Martina! She followed up her victory over Venus by winning the finals and capturing the Italian Open. Pretty cool.

 

[Poacher]

Alright Martina! Keep rollin'! Man it would be awesome if she were to win the French Open. I think she's got a good shot. There is not a dominant number 1 right now in women's tennis...she can do it.

 

[aussieaussie]

I lost alot of respect for Hingis. Here in Australia the Australian open is a very big event. A few years back(about 6/7 years ago.I cannot say for sure exactly how many) I remember being totally sickened when Hingis was at a press conference with her black boyfriend. I cannot recall his name but I remember the commentator saying that he was playing professional soccer in England. I turned the channel shortly their after. I like many people commenting on this wonderful site was at one time a Hingis fan. After I saw that I rooted for the opposing player regardless of the opposing players race. What I say is 100% true. I remember only because I was so repulsed by it. On the other hand, the williams sisters seem to have a thing for white men. I have seen them many times with white boyfriends.(especially serena). That being said, I am a racially conscious whiteman who has married a white women and has a beautiful white child. However I think that it is an interesting point. I assume that most members who post here are racially conscious as well on one level or another and cheer for their own people.(I know I do) But who are we suppose to cheer for in a scenario that pitts Serena Williams (A black women who dates mainly white men) against Hingis (A white women who dates Men from Africa) Personally I cheer for Serena.(Or any other player that is in direct competition with Hingis. I apologise for the post being long but I thought it might be important to let all racially conscious whitemen and women know exactly who and what they are cheering for when they root for hingis.

 

[sunshine]

Rooting for Hingis mate. Thats easy. Anyway congrats to her for her win and it is refreshing to note that white athletes can comeback from the dead. Until further notice if a white chick dates a black guy she still remains white. Serena on the other hand doesn't turn white by dating a white guy.

 

[KG2422]

I remember being totally sickened when Hingis was at a press conference with her black boyfriend.

Her boyfriend is tennis pro Radek Stepanek nowadays. Maybe she has seen the light.Edited by: KG2422

 

[Don Wassall]

I always thought her willingness to not be intimidated by the Williams sisters, and some of the things she said about them and other players indicated that Hingis was opposed to feminism/lesbianism and black militancywith itsin your face behavior. I don't know how long she dated the negro soccer player but I'll bet it wasn't long and that he was the only non-white she dated. My memories of tabloid photographs of her with the opposite sex --and Martina was definitely not shy about revealing her strong interest in dating young men --were of clean cut, most definitely white men. Many were of the more traditional courting type relationships that didn't automatically lead to sex, as opposed to today's prevailing attitude of gettin' down to it almost right away.

 

[SeaJim]

martina probably had an overnight sexual fantasy of jungle fever. then she realized that black boys having big dicks was nothing but a myth or fairytale portrayed by you know who. sorry,i am not gay but i have seen quite a few white brothers that are very nicely endowed. just another myth portrayed in the media about white men and the size of our manhood.Edited by: SeaJim

 

[Iron]

I think the Black guy in question is Sol Campbell.Nothing serious happened between them,but the media tried to make a big story of it because he escorted her to some type of event. They were probably more friends if anything.Campbell's ugly , boring and arrogent,he's not the brightest spark either.like many Black athletes he's able do date attractive women because of his status. I doubt he'd catch Hingis attention for long even if something serious did happen.

 

[Poacher]

I thought she was dating Sergio Garcia around that time.

 

[Don Wassall]

Speaking of Martina and her less than admiring attitude toward the Williams sisters, I happened across this incident I wrote about back in '97: "Not reprimanded in any way was Richard Williams, father of Venus Williams, a teenage professional tennis player, who called Irina Spirlea of Romania a 'big, tall, ugly white turkey.' Venus Williams and Spirlea had bumped into each other during a changeover in their semifinal match in this year's U.S. Open. After the match, at a press conference, Spirlea referred to 'f---in Venus Williams,' following which she was fined for her crudity. Williams' father then made his racist attack."

 

[Quiet Speed]

It's all very unclear, but it appears Martina may have a desire to return once again. Her two year suspension for testing positive for cocaine has expired. If you think Matt Jones got the business, Martina's situation appears every bit as unjust. At the time, she denied using cocaine altogether and had testing done on a hair sample which proved negative.

The women's game is all a power game now. It would be tough for Martina to bang it out with the heavies. On the other hand, to see her brand of finesse tennis one more time would be interesting, say, against the likes of Sharapova.


Hingis discusses positive cocaine test as two-year ITF ban lapses

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_wertheim/09/30/martina.hingis/index.html

While we've been conditioned to raise a skeptical eye when athletes profess innocence and ignorance after a positive drug test result, the ITF stance was troubling from the onset.

To review: The ITF claims that 42 nanograms per milliliter of a cocaine metabolite was found in Hingis' system, as per a drug test administered after her third-round defeat at Wimbledon in 2007. This is an amount so trace that it would not trigger a positive result had the test been administered by the U.S. military. In the wake of the positive result, Hingis voluntarily took a hair-follicle test -- which, unlike a lie-detector test, is cited by drug experts as meaningful and reliable. It indicated no traces of cocaine in her system in the 90 days following Wimbledon.

The amount was so trace that, in marked contrast to Richard Gasquet -- who was cleared to return after completing a 2½-month ban in July when an anti-doping panel ruled that he accidentally ingested cocaine by kissing a woman at a nightclub -- Hingis was at a loss even to fashion a plausible theory about how she could have tested positive. (In the past few months the British media have reported about trace levels of cocaine turning up everywhere from the Thames River to restroom sinks.) Though circumstantial evidence is just that -- circumstantial -- it defies logic that a veteran player who had passed upwards of 100 tests, some of them unannounced and out of competition, would dabble with cocaine in conjunction with a Grand Slam, knowing with virtual certainty that she would be tested.

Under the "strict-liability standard" -- which means the athlete is responsible regardless of culpability or circumstance -- Hingis was stuck, guilty until proven innocent. As a first-time offender, she faced a mandatory two-year suspension.

Though never directly attributed to the peculiarities of her case, curiously, in the months after her hearing, rules were altered and administrators were given latitude to dispense suspensions of any length from zero to two years. Read More

Hingis keen on another comeback

http://www.bigpondsport.com/news/tabid/281/newsid/41186/hingis-keen-on-another-comeback/default.aspx

Swiss tennis great Martina Hingis has hinted at a return to the women's professional circuit having served her two-year ban for drug abuse.

The 29-year-old admitted in November 2007 she had tested positive for cocaine and announced her retirement.

But after her two-year ban expired in September 2009, the five-time grand slam winner admitted she misses the game.

"I can not imagine a life without tennis," she said after playing American former world number one Lindsay Davenport of the United States in an exhibition game near Berlin.
"It's still so much fun for me
.
"I'd like to play more exhibition games and see what happens. Read More

 

[Don Wassall]

Even Justine Henin has returnedtrying to be apower hitter in her latest incarnation. I can't see how a Hingis comeback would work unless she really hit the weights, which would be a shame from my persective as much of her charm came from her femininity and style of play. At close to age 30 I can't see her coming back unless she would be satisifed to play as an average player who does so for the joy of it rather than to win big tournaments.