Martina Hingis v Serena Williams - Australian Open 2001 Quarter Final | AO Classics 

Easily one of the best of all time.

Saw her playing at a European junior tournament in Chur (Switzerland) in 1990 or 1991. She was 11 years old at most. Her two significantly older, taller, physically stronger opponents on that Saturday may have managed to score a game or so. If I had to describe how she played, my attempt would fail before I even said one word. There are certain things in life one cannot describe.

"during her time"? after her loss to Graf at the Roland Garros 1999 final, Hingis NEVER again won a grand slam...

@@anthonydecastro6938 well yeah but she still won enough tournaments to retain the number 1 ranking for a while. this tournament really solidified her decline. she played well against Venus in the next round and was the heavy favorite to win against Jennifer but she had other plans. After this, the big babes( Jennifer, Venus, Serena, Lindsay) we're beating her pretty regularly. Everyone in the comments was praising Martina but this was really Serena's match to lose - She lost a lot of matches that she should have won in 2001 and trained hard in the off season to start winning again.

But temember that Serena W was far from the form of her dominant self. She was making lots of unforced errors. The serve was not as good yet. Hingis had the game but just not enough power to deal with the bigger stronger rivals that came after her.

serena loved losing to white women!!!

True. The 00s are the best era for women tennis. Williams Sisters, Hingis, Henin, Davenport, Capriati, Clijsters, Sharapova, Mauresmo. So many multiple grand slam champions. And so many top players with different playing styles. These days everything is about power. Which is still ok if they can reduce the unforced errors. But when all players go for broke too many times it creates too many unforced errors, and creates inconsistencies. Not many players can play the power game the way that williams sisters and sharapova does. I think the younger generations player needs to hold back some of their shots and not go for broke all the time.

@@secrets.295 probably true for most sports. Kids nowadays on twitter all day instead of training

@@alanlee67 what Twitter got to do with this now-

So true.. The Era just b4 this was also awesome.. With Steffi, Martina.N n so may noble technically advanced players. I personally Loved their front court play so very much.. 😀

@@secrets.295 Graf*

Yes she was

"Drive" volley

hit it late, let it drop too low, hit it from no man's land-- luckily cleared net and dropped in. Poor technique but clutch shot nonetheless

@@bryanmartin5901 Poor technique ? Martina Hingis ... poor technique ??? Ah ... LOL 😁

Yes, I love that shot!

@@doctorgrigori585 hahahahaha

There were no power hitters back then when she was winning matches. She could never compete in today’s game

@@Jane-vw5om Good joke. For almost 10 years now the WTA has been awful. Filled with low quality Tennis players. Hingis would have easily been the best. Even current Serena is nothing special and she dominates just by risky power hitting with no real thought behind it.

@@Jane-vw5om there were quite a few good power hitters during the 96-2000 Hingis' era, there was Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Jennifer Capriati and the Williams Sisters. Steffi Graf was also still a force to contend with in 96-99.

Imagine her in the 70s or 80s

@@MalphasMikaelson 'risky power hitting with no real thought behind it.' doesn't win you multiple Grand Slams. Stop talking shit

Osaka, Andreescu, Hsieh, Halep, Kvitova, Yastremska.

@@lower_than_furries9727 All of them are good except the last one

@@lower_than_furries9727 You forgot Kerber, Wozniacki and Muguruza.

all those players were very talented. What a pitty that anna kournikova had to retired at 21 years only because of back injuries. She was anyway the champion junior player in her time. To young. I miss all those players and tennis is no more the same without them. I miss capriati, kournikova and Dementieva

So you out grand slam winners in honorable mentions but mentioned kournikova?

Martina was a brilliant player. I miss the rivalries in women's tennis.

Belimd Bencic is the modern day version of hingis, but not as good

The female Miloslav Mecir.

Lechiffresix six 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️😂😂

She won Australia when she was 19.

Martina did win Grand Slam titles in doubles after the age of 18.

People care about singles where she never won slam after 1999 as game.passed her simple​@@annewalden3795

​@@annewalden3795Who was her partner?

@@planetX15 Martina was very fortunate as she had a variety of partners including Roger Federer , Jamie Murray, Jana Novotna, Anna Kournikova, Sandra Mirza etc . Take a look at Wikipedia for more information.

She was cute. lol

I’m 22, and I had a crush on her

Me too, she had that temper...

You see her now. I bet, you change your opinion.

@@TheJovial1970 uh oh. Lol.

Mine too. It was her intelligence on the court and the range of shots she had. It was difficult to see when she faced Davenport who was so powerful and Hingis just didn't get a chace, especially on her own serve.

Crush

She’s a psychopath.

Mine too in womens. She was also a crush

yea back in the day swiss miss HINGIS was my Idle as well in many respects she still is! But my latest phenomenal rising star Idle of a new age is ASHLEY BARTY, in many respects Hingis an Barty are very much alike in game play an dogid in determination aswell as headstrong in strategy of their game.. Personally I'd very very very much like to see a full on Hingis v Barty match it would be quite interesting to say the least with them being very similar in many ways!! Buttttt I know that could never happen now that Hingis has gone an got her self a well earned retirement an all..

Pablo Briones me henin was one reason why istarted to love tennis with roger

I did too until I met her in real life and she was so rude.

Shame she was just a horrible person. I hope she's matured over the years and isn't just better at hiding it

@@andrewmark2783 Andrew: it's looks like you have "confidential" information about her or, maybe, for some reason, you have something against her. Choose one.

@@gerardobaltodano Or maybe I've just seen her be really unpleasant in interviews speaking about other players? Get over yourself

A great match point save!

they were but this match is a bad example. serena was never cautious against her. except for this match. i don’t even know what serena’s game plan was.

Anthony Mauro I guess she never was cautious with any player, she’ll just hit the ball as hard as she can left, right or center. That was until her sudden brilliance in early 2002 when she started showing signs of being one of the greatest female champion in tennis history. While Martina Hingis on the other hand, found her rightful place as one of the best doubles player in tennis.

Her two handed backhand was a weapon.

no offensive weapons....very funny. Ask Serena about Hingis's forehand or backhand. Maybe the serve wasn't overpowering, but if Hingis was lacking offensive power I can't think of many contemporaries with better offensive games.

ron macdonald seriously! just because she doesn’t hit every shot flat or as hard as she can doesn’t mean she wasn’t offensive. she was in control of many many points. she used things other than her power to dominate her opponents. and this is coming from a huge williams fan.

Aidan Hamilton 0

Smartest, based on what, I feel like that is an excuse that people use for female tennis players who are unwilling to put in the work at the gym.

what does that have to do with women’s tennis and learn to read

where do you see smartest.

Bullshit! Hingis got in her own way. Serena came along and just tore her career to shreds

@@fallendevonish1869 eh, don't know if u can really apply that to hingis. I'm sure she worked hard, she had some pretty serious physical limitations. Short, small frame etc. I think the argument is she did a lot with what she had.

You forgot her nasty temper which cost her from winning the final of the 1999 French Open

I keep confusing 2001 and 2002. I thought it was 2001 where she had all those match points but got nervous and each of them played Conservative hoping JC would miss. JC was more in control in 2002

Xi DIAMOND no it was 2002. In 2001 Jennifer won in straight sets.

@@craiglevy8144 The ball was in! And the only thing nasty was the French Open crowd

@@damagedradio The ball was in, but Martina totally lost her focus. I am a huge fan of hers, always had been. But at the time she was up a break in the set, and winning that current service game. I've never worked out exactly why she lost it so intensely over one bad call. The French crowd were awful though. She'd beaten home favourite Mary Pierce on the way too, and that may have been an additional factor. Obviously, the French was the only grand slam she was missing and she may have wanted it too much.

I think Serena was/is more beautiful, so each to their own...

You recognize the correlation between youth, injuries and going on tour. This is why Mr. Williams limited his girls junior touring schedule. He was called all kinds of disrespectful name for this by the USTA people and media people. In hindsight, he looks like a genius for his vision and guidance for the Williams sisters. And, as he foretold, they had long successful tennis careers. They have been conscious international embassadors of tennis and inspired millions to play. Currently, Serena is two major wins away from being the number 1 all time major tournament winner in tennis. Venus has been magnificent and has significant multitudes of tournament wins. When Venus casted a shadow over her sister in the early days, Mr. Williams said the younger Serena would be better in the future. Now, we see what he talked about decades ago.

Imagine if she was around in the 70s 80s

I wonder why her serves looked soo weak and I seen her stretching out her shoulders a lot

And the cocaine problem

Papacito , this isn't going to happen and you know it.

Errr I disagree. Its rumoured she became a bit of a coke head..She always deniged it though..Anyways I think that was why she walked away from it..But yeah she was a joy to watch.. My favourite female player, her and Graff...And of course the William's sisters

@@markmorris7123 "Rumored" being the key point here. In reality, Hingis' game didn't match up to power players when they were hitting more winners than unforced. Hingis had a lot of variety, but none of that mattered when you can't get to the ball or forced onto your back foot.

You do realize this is from 2001??

@@mwoz14222 I think he meant he hopes she went to the final after this match.

@@amaiurjarauta969 she did and lost to Capriati

just to add...now...it is just ...slam, bam, wham, eeekkkkkk......shriekkkkkkkkk.......STILL love tennis though....

Yep I must admit Martina has a lovely arse and nice legs here 😛

Before they both matured and then neither cam hang with them

Serena always played the emotional game? huh?

Graf is the GOAT. And graf faced much better HOF competition.

Tobias Immerstein it’s so funny when people that look like you claim steroids. Considering people that look like you hate Serena has that been true Serena would have been banned a long time ago. But I guess drugs helps your limited mind comprehend how physically superior Serena is than her opponents.

Also during this time, no mention of Margaret Court's record. Steffi's record was seen as the one to beat, but since Serena broke it... The narrative changed.

@@TobiasImmerstein-tm3gp you didn't grow up with black kids in your community or have any as friends? This can be considered a stereotype, but it is my truth; a lot of them are gifted with athletic bodies. Our track and field team were all Canadian black for the sprints, Africans for the long distance, and field spots were the whites sprinkled with some Asians. Quite a few of my classmates from 11 years old onwards naturally had a 6 pack abs. Genetics - all the strong, well built Africans in the 20th century were sold as slaves - those genes have been passed on

Xiao Chiao yes. Serena already is since AO 17 the greatest slam winner

@Max E @M C There was never arrogance.

Buffalo 66...SO, she’s gonna be alright 👌

B M-Y not many people are still getting to FINALS at her age. i'm sure you don't disrespect Federer the same way and he's just as old and has been losing finals.

B M-Y Still counting until she says she’s retired. She could still win US Open, or she could win 1 or 2 next year. You may have stop counting but she hasn’t yet😘.

Steffi graf is the goat she won 22 out of 54 Slams serena 23 out of 71!!!

Maybe. But she's a bully player. She just tries to overpower everyone and the other ladies have naturalized that advantage. Look how many unforced errors she had in this match. Plus she's a poor professional and notorious bad sport.

And Serena was never a graceful loser against other players. Admittedly, she's one of the greatest players of all time, but never liked her entitled attitude.

Especially, when the opponent is a transgender who has no business playing women's tennis!!!!

@@jamesl9539 no she is not. look at the pics as a child. 2. she is jehovas witness they dont do that.

shame for you she didn't win more of 5 grand slam ...

@@Gamer-sv2mz she won with doubles and mixed 25 GS titles

i meaned in simple play thanks

Even after being a coke head? And people still root for cheater Sharapova, tennis fans, like the sport itself needs a lesson in reality

@@1deonlucas9 she tried coke for one time on a party, it was a mistake but this was no doping!

Hingis was too stubborn. Giorgi is smaller than her yet packed power. Because Martina was winning so easy before the power power she never adjusted her game

True, it can only be imagined never lived. Only dreams with no manifestation.

Yeah Hingis is definitely a legend to be able to even compete with the likes of Davenport the William sisters etc. With no overwhelming power weapon was remarkable. It was like you said her anticipation her tremendous footwork, taking the ball early and redirecting it. But make no mistake Serena is the greatest of all time.

What is the "LOL" for?

Maks LOL because she wasn't a solid player in the long run and she often bad mouthed other players.

Im either

Me too. Like a deep, carnal thing. Still can't figure it out.

And Hingis got a role in Star Wars!

No, that's Serena Williams!

Don’t insult Natalie Portman

They did look alike from certain angles. Now they don't look alike as they get older but the similarity is still there in certain photographs.

Like wozniacki,radwanska and Li.

Williams has a wall in the UK of awards the white chick sucks

LadyMaryNW45 Yeah, most players even hard hitters were very cautious when dealing with Martina Hingis. She was striking the ball early on the rise, top spin shots and those skillful half volleys were her weapons to compensate for the lack of power.

@@mountainblanc3200 She really formed the foundation for the new players now. They are able to incorporate all which Hingis innovated into their power games, even deadlier now!

@@aaron1983 she never had a power game. She couldn't hang with the heavy hitters. She was good for her time but her game was too weak for what was coming. The William's sisters Shsrapova, Justine Anna Harden. Too strong for her weak game. Not to mention her serve was like 20mph slower. She rarely hit 95-100