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Coetzer lt. Hingis, 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 6-1
I wasn't intending to go see the Coetzer/Hingis fourth round match because: 1) I didn't have Centre Court tickets and 2) I was going back to Sydney that night, and needed to start packing. Besides, I felt that that match was a certainty to be scheduled on Centre, and I could just as well watch it on television. Aside from the Pierce versus Kournikova match-up - which was big for reasons other than tennis - it had to be the most interesting fourth round match. Therefore, I was extremely suprised to read in the newspaper that it was scheduled to be on Court 1. Knowing that Channel 7 would never show it over the Agassi match, I decided to get a ground pass and go to see it live.
Martina Hingis had been in ominous form in the first three rounds of the tournament. Earlier that month, she had kept her unbeaten record alive at the Hopman Cup, with wins that included a victory over world #1, Lindsay Davenport. Davenport, however, had humbled her a week later in the final of the adidas International. It is interesting to note that in 1998, Hingis had also been forced to play her fourth round match at the Aussie Open out on Court 1. She double-bageled her opponent, and then remarked that she want to get out of there as fast as possible because she was unhappy about being off Centre Court. In contrast, Amanda had barely scraped past her first three opponents and had admitted that she was not too happy with her game. I merely hoped that Amanda would give Martina a close match.
The most memorable incident in the first set happened at 3-2, with Hingis serving. Amanda suffered one of the worst line calls that I had seen in a long while. The ball landed at least two inches outside the sideline, and even the Hingis fans around me agreed that the ball was definitely out. But the call was made on the line furtherest from the umpire's chair, and she made no move to overrule. At that point, Amanda actually went up to the umpire and argued with her for several minutes, something that I had never seen her do before. However, it turned out that she was only making the reasonable request of asking the lineswoman to be moved to another line. Amanda wanted her to be moved immediately, but it didn't happen until the beginning of the next game. Despite that shocking call, Amanda displayed her mental fortitude by breaking Hingis' serve, with the crowd cheering her on.
Aside from that incident, the first set was fairly unremarkable. In the nine games that were played, six were won on breaks of serve but that stat was to be expected. Amanda still struggled with her serve (particularly her ball toss) and Martina's serve is perhaps the only (relative) weakness in her game. She still proved to be the stronger in winning the first set, 6-3.
Hingis achieved a rare feat when she held serve in the first game of the second set. From then on - until Amanda served to stay in the match - every game was won on a break of serve. Hingis served for the match at 5-3. Amanda broke her to love, and then finally held serve herself.
In the second set tiebreak, it was clear that the momentum had shifted Amanda's way. She was always ahead, and soon had four set points. She lost the first through a double fault, but a Hingis error on the second clinched the set for her.
The stats say that Martina made a lot of unforced errors, hence she was not on her game, and that was the reason why she was taken to three sets by Amanda. But the truth is that Coetzer forced her into making those unforced errors. She made her hit a lot of balls in the hottest part of the day. Hingis grew frustrated and tried to go for too much on her shots, and would end up making an error. When Amanda won the second set, Martina expressed her frustration by tossing her racquet and kicking angrily at a ball (and missing.)
But, when the second set was over, Martina also showed the tennis smarts that makes her the number one player. She called for a ten minute time out, invoking the WTA heat rule that says if the temperature is over 28 degrees celcius then the players could ask to have a break between the second and third sets. It was 31 degrees celcius on that day so the heat rule was in effect, but I was sitting right on top of the court and I didn't think it was that hot. (Then again, I was only sitting. :-) ) Martina dashed off as soon as the umpire said that she could go, while Amanda left the court much more slowly.
Surprisingly, Amanda actually played better when she came out for the third set. She finally found some rhythm on her serve, and was consistently hitting it over the 130km/h mark. But she also came out with the wrong tactic of trying to end the points early by going for winners, instead of prolonging the point and working on Hingis' still suspect fitness. Every game was close (I think five out of seven went to deuce) but Hingis seemed to win all the important points. Amanda was certainly not disgraced when she lost the third set by the deceptive scoreline, 6-1. The crowd agreed and gave both players a standing ovation when the match was over.
I have to say that I'm still somewhat annoyed that the match wasn't held on Centre Court. The girl next to me turned to me at the beginning of the third set, and said sarcastically 'This match is definitely not of Centre Court quality.' Our opinion was vilified, I guess, when Graf and Seles - the women seeds who were on Centre - crushed their opponents. Television naturally covered these matches, and showed only snippets of the Hingis/Coetzer match. But in hindsight, I'm probably more glad than annoyed that it was on Court 1 rather than Centre Court. Court 1 is obviously a lot different to the main showcourt. The players probably feel the heat a bit more, because they aren't buffeted by the walls that are out on Centre. It's also much more intimate, and in that match, the atmosphere was fantastic. It was packed before the players even took to the court, and right throughout the match, fans were calling out for their favourite player after every point. In the third set, practically all the support was for Amanda. The crowd reacted warmly to her comeback, and perhaps also a little negatively towards Martina's display of petulance. Amanda showed her appreciation by signing autographs after the match, even though she was clearly disappointed to lose when she had such an opportunity. She was even laughing with a guy who asked her to sign his cap with a fluoro yellow pen. Amanda stayed to interact with the crowd for longer than Hingis did, and the people in the stands responded by giving her another standing ovation as she left the court.
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