Hingis Puts Name In Wimbledon Record Book Czech Becomes Youngest Champ With Share Of Women’s Doubles Title

A Wimbledon that didn’t want to end finally did Monday, just in time for Martina Hingis to become the youngest winner of a women’s title in the championship’s history.

After five straight days of rain-wrecked matches, the gates of the All England Club were thrown open, free of charge to the hoi polloi, and Centre Court was packed for the completion of women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

The virtually naked lady who had streaked past Richard Krajicek and MaliVai Washington before their final Sunday was long freed from custody and her body was on display in every tabloid. No new streakers appeared for an encore.

The odd couple of Hingis and Helena Sukova, the former half the age and seemingly half the height of the latter, teamed to win the women’s doubles title by completing a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland.

Hingis, at 15 years and 282 days of age, was three days younger than Charlotte “Lottie” Dod was in 1887 when she won the first of her five singles titles.

“For every tennis player, this is a big goal to win Wimbledon, even if it’s doubles,” said Hingis, a Czech native who lives in Switzerland. “But I hope one time it will be the singles, too.”

Sukova, 31 and eight inches taller than Hingis, won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title in 1989 and 1990 with Czech Republic compatriot Jana Novotna, and in 1987 with Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.

Sukova and Neiland met again in the mixed doubles final, and the Czech won again. After finishing women’s doubles, both had to play through two more rounds of mixed before making it to the final.

Sukova and her brother, Cyril Suk, triumphed 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Neiland and Australia’s Mark Woodforde despite losing the first set in only 18 minutes.

With Richard Krajicek winning the men’s title, Steffi Graf taking the women’s for the seventh time and Australians Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge the men’s doubles for the fourth time in a row, it was the first time since 1991 no American won any of the Wimbledon titles.