Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingisis a Swiss professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 in doubles by the WTA. She spent a total of 209 weeks as the singles world No. 1 and has won five Grand Slam singles titles, twelve Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam in 1998, and five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; for a combined total of twenty-two major titles. In addition, she has won the season-ending WTA Championships two times...
NationalityCzechoslovakian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth30 September 1980
CityKosice, Slovakia
Either way it would have been a great match. It was just very difficult conditions and today it was whoever had the stronger head and stayed in the match. One shot here and there and it could have been different.
I didn't miss much of the key points and I put her under pressure. I couldn't ask for more, because Maria is number four in the world. I knew I had to come up with a great game and I did.
She's a great fighter. She started attacking more and also partly I was getting tired or just loosened up a little. But I think towards the end, it was all nerves.
She is a solid player, the one to beat in tomorrow's final. I lost to a great player today. She is playing her best tennis. However, I wouldn't say that I am playing bad tennis. I am improving with every outing. I know there are certain areas in which I can improve.
It's really great to be back after all this time. I have very nice memories because I was the first female player to win the title here (in 2001). Hopefully these memories will inspire me and it will be a good week for me in this great event. I was always impressed with the modernity of Dubai and all that it has to offer.
Everybody has always been asking me which player you want to play and I always said 'Maria,' because I've never played her and she's a great champion, she has won Wimbledon at such a young age.
It was a pretty impressive win. The first set was a bit tough. I guess that was because we haven't played before. I didn't feel good at the beginning -- I guess today I won with my heart. I feel great to be in the semifinals.
It's great to be back out there. When you hear the applause, people are out there wanting to see you.
It's great to be back out there. When you hear applause, people are there wanting to see you. It's great. And I played some good points early on, and then you just get going.
It seemed like it was a long time ago, like a lot of things have happened to me. Walking back on the stage where you've been so successful, it's a lot of pressure on you. But you also know you've had a lot of success in the past, playing the finals here over and over. Tonight, it worked, and all I can say is it feels great to be back out there.
I'm very excited. We've had great battles over the years, and now that I haven't played her since my comeback, it's definitely a great challenge. We always played one of the best matches because we knew every time we played, either we win the tournament or we were close to doing so. So (it) always brought the best tennis out of each other.
It was great proof to myself. I'm relieved, I'm happy. I think I can be proud of myself. You think I'm just going to give up now?
I knew I had to come up with a great game and I did.
I've played a lot of tennis this week and I'm not used to that.