Hingis, Rafter Have Look Of Champions At U.S. Open Women’s Titlist Nearly Perfect; Men’s Champ Lives Out Fantasy

The half-volley on match point was like most of Martina Hingis’ shots Sunday. Perfectly hit. Perfectly placed. Perfectly unretrievable.

A perfect ending to a near-perfect year.

When Hingis landed her forehand winner near the service line, inches from her opponent’s reach, it capped a brilliant 1997 U.S. Open and Grand Slam run. Her 6-0, 6-4 victory against American Venus Williams in the women’s singles final gave her three of the four major tournaments in a calendar year, only the sixth women’s player to do so.

Hingis, 16, who lost the French Open final to Iva Majoli, joins Steffi Graf, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Monica Seles as the only players to win three-quarters of the Grand Slam. Graf and Court won all four in one calendar year.

“When you have played the last point, it doesn’t matter how many tournaments you have won, it’s still a special feeling,” said Switzerland’s Hingis, marveling at the addition of her name to the dozens of prominent names already etched into the U.S. Open’s silver trophy.

Patrick Rafter also joins the list of first-time U.S. Open winners. He defeated Britain’s Greg Rusedski in four long sets, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, to become the first Australian man to hoist the silver cup since Ken Rosewall in 1973.

“I can’t believe it, it is like fantasyland,” said Rafter, who wrapped up his second career title in two hours, 26 mintues. “This is something you never dream of, well dream of, but not of ever happening.”

Hingis, ranked No.1, had no such difficulty in her 62-minute victory. She committed just 15 unforced errors, while capitalizing on many of Williams’ 38 and a whole bundle of nerves.

Williams, 17, was playing in her first professional final, while Hingis has won 10 tournaments this year alone. Still, Hingis said she conceded nothing to Williams’ inexperience.

She stuck to her game plan of mixing up her serve and shot selection and neutralizing Williams’ speed. Many times, though, Hingis simply waited for Williams to make an error rather than go for a winner. Her plan, like everything else this year, worked perfectly.

“You can’t allow her to make her game,” Hingis said. “She has very powerful ground strokes. If she’s going to let you run left-right all the time, her backhand is especially dangerous.”

Williams summed up her first Grand Slam final plain and simple: “I went out there. Lost the first set, 6-0. Lost the second, 6-4. Then there was the awards ceremony.”

The men’s and women’s champions won $650,000, while the runners-up were awarded $350,000.

Hingis joins elite group

Martina Hingis became the sixth player in the Open era to win three or more Grand Slam tournament singles titles in a calendar year.

Steffi Graf and Margaret Smith Court won all four tournaments - Wimbledon and the U.S., Australian and French Opens - while Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Monica Seles and Hingis have won three of the four.

Hingis won the Australian Open in January, Wimbledon in July and the U.S Open. She lost the French Open final to Iva Majoli in June.

Cashing in

By reaching the U.S. Open women’s doubles final for the fifth time in her career, Natasha Zvereva of Belarus became the 10th woman in Corel WTA Tour history to pass the $6 million mark in official career prize money.

Known primarily for her doubles play, Zvereva did reach the French Open singles final in 1988, where she lost to Steffi Graf.

Zvereva’s career earnings total $6,012,821.

Tops all the way

Top-seeded Cara Black of Zimbabwe captured the U.S. Open Junior Girls singles championships by defeating Kildine Chevalier of France 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3.

A right-hander, the 18-year-old Black represented Zimbabwe in the 1992 NTT World Junior Tennis Qualifying and represented her country in Fed Cup in 1996.

Her brothers, Bryon and Wayne, form Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup team.