In John O'Sullivan'sreport of the '99 women's singles final at Roland Garros, he describes the drama, skill, aggression, devastation and joy
SUPERLATIVES FOR once are neither trite nor glib.
Steffi Graf’s performance in winning a sixth French Open at Roland Garros was magnificent, a tribute to her mental and physical prowess in a contest that offered pure theatre. In the process she become the first player to beat the number one-, two- and three-ranked players in a tournament in the Open era.
Graf tried to articulate her feelings before confirming that this would be her last visit to Roland Garros. “This is the best moment of my career. The crowd was unbelievable. I have never known anything like it. This is definitely the last time I will play here, without a doubt. You know this memory should be the way it is. This was my last French Open.”
Disputed calls, a code violation, haute couture readjustment, an underarm serve at match point and tears aplenty guarantee a never-to-be-forgotten final. The sideshows should not, but will, detract from the quality of tennis on a day when a gusting wind offered a ready excuse for sub-standard fare.
Graf’s remarkable display, taking the game 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, inspired Martina Hingis to admit: “I just didn’t know what to do.”
Already assured of a place in the pantheon of the sport – 22 Grand Slam titles needs no elaboration – the lustre of previous achievements was embellished further by her latest success. Principally because of the manner in which she refused to buckle against world number one Hingis.
Trailing by a set, 5-4 and 15-0 on the Hingis serve, Graf demonstrated nerves of high-tensile steel, patience, precision and remarkable composure excavating her from a perilous predicament. In taking the set 7-5 she wrested the momentum from Hingis, not least by the excellence of her tennis. In taking the third set 6-2, she simply capitalised on the emotional breakdown of her opponent.
It was a sobering sight to watch a grief-stricken Hingis in floods of tears, obviously struggling to comprehend the venom and vitriol poured on her by a packed gallery.
Her after-match admission summed up her distress. “If my mother wasn’t there I wouldn’t have gone back (out on court for the presentation). Come on, would you go out there if everyone boos you out?”
She facilitated the displeasure of the 16,000 crowd with a couple of tantrums, not least with the bizarre manner in which she disputed a call while leading by a set and 2-0. She became embroiled in an argument she would never win and then committed the ultimate sin by walking to the other side of the net, a gesture that is forbidden. Her silly persistence cost her a penalty point, but for a crowd that already favoured Graf it was the cue for open hostility.
A warning for breaking her racquet by hammering it off the ground, leaving the court to change her top and remove her bandanna at the end of the second set and another petulant dispute stoked the fires of discontent of what ultimately became a boorish mob whose vilification of an 18-year-old was pathetic to witness.
Sure Hingis could have conducted herself in a more detached fashion, but at 18 she possesses the immaturity of most teenagers, blighted with a touch of arrogance. Still she did not deserve the unbridled baiting.
What state of mind forces the number one player in the world to serve underarm at match point? No matter how many Grand Slams Hingis adds to her current total of five, the stigma of that action will stay with her for the rest of her life. That she repeated it again, at match point this time without success, underlined her mental breakdown.
The Swiss girl offered: “I just couldn’t serve. I thought well maybe down under it’s easier.”
Graf to her credit did not condemn her young opponent for what in tennis terms would be a slight. “I thought it was a hell of a serve,” she laughed. “I mean just to do it for the first time, it was very good. I had the feeling that the crowd felt it was an insult. I did at that moment because she did it extremely well. Obviously, it shook things up a bit and she won the point. It was a good decision from her point.”
Graf was gracious in the words of consolation she offered Hingis and one suspects they were genuine even if the Swiss girl struggled to absorb anything in her distraught state.
Only once, and this during the match, did Graf lose patience with the increasing number of charades, striding to the net and interrupting another exchange between Hingis and the umpire. Exasperated she declared: “Are we playing tennis or just talking a little bit.”
She provided the emphatic answer, through deeds. The French Open women’s final should be remembered as one of the great finals, its memory honouring Graf as a truly great champion.
