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| �1998 ESPN/CNN/SI |
| Hingis wins season ending Chase Champs.. |
Posted: Sunday November 22, 1998 06:12 PM
NEW YORK, New York (AP) -- The No. 1 ranking was out of Lindsay Davenport's reach, but for Martina Hingis, who had not won a tournament in six months, these were the highest kinds of stakes.
"I was playing for my pride," she said. Beating the player who seized her No. 1 ranking, Hingis ended her long dry spell Sunday by capturing the Chase Championships.
With her mobility and court savvy in full display, Hingis negated Davenport's power game and won the season-ending tournament 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
It was Hingis' first victory in this $2 million event and her first tournament title since the Italian Open in May.
Davenport, the world's No. 1 player, ended an outstanding year on a down note, losing the final match of the season for the second time. She lost the Championships final to Gabriela Sabatini in 1994.
This was supposed to be Davenport's time, especially after she beat a resurgent Steffi Graf in Saturday's semifinals. Instead, it was the 17-year-old from Switzerland who walked away with the trophy, named on Sunday for Billie Jean King. Hingis also collected $500,000.
For 80 weeks, Hingis was ranked No. 1, until Davenport moved into the top spot after beating the teen-ager in the U.S. Open final two months ago. On Sunday, Hingis gave notice this fight for No. 1 will carry over to next year.
"It feels great," Hingis said. "To play in the Garden was a big success for me. I will try to get back the No. 1 ranking next year."
For the most part, Hingis matched Davenport stroke for stroke in a power game and test of wills. But Hingis used drop shots to exploit Davenport's lack of foot speed and agility. She also would occasionally sneak to the net for winning volleys.
Davenport usually had only one card to play -- hit harder. And while she repeatedly had break points, she converted only four of 16.
Hingis did only slightly better. But that's all it really took to win the elite 16-player tournament.
"I don't think I played the smartest match today tactically," Davenport admitted.
Hingis, who won the Australian Open in January, became the only woman this year to capture two of the sport's top five titles. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario captured the French Open, Jana Novotna won Wimbledon and Davenport took the U.S. Open.
"It would have been nice to win today, but that's OK, I've had a great year," Davenport said.
The two traded service breaks in the fourth and fifth games of the match. Then came two marathon games that tested the mettle of both.
Hingis fought through five deuces, staving off three break points, to hold serve and take a 4-3 lead.
In the next game, Davenport and Hingis battled to seven deuces before Davenport finally held to 4-4. The 10-minute game was the longest of the match.
Trailing 5-6, Davenport served to send the first set to a tiebreak. But she quickly fell behind love-40 before winning the next three games to pull to deuce. Not to be denied, Hingis captured the next two points to close out the break and the first set.
"You just try to win the first set, otherwise it is hard," Hingis said. "I think of men playing, they say the second set is very important, but in women's I think it is very important to win the first set."
The next break of serve came in the final game of the second set. Davenport fought gamely before losing the 16-point game. Hingis now was just one set away from victory.
After two trips to the final, Davenport finally won a set. She lost in straight sets to Sabatini in the only women's match that is contested over a best-of-5 sets.
It was only a speed bump on Hingis' trip to her fifth tournament win of the year.
She broke Davenport in the fourth and sixth games to race to a 5-1 lead. After Hingis lost her serve at 30, she broke right back from deuce to close out the 2-hour, 23-minute battle.
"I tried my best today but it just wasn't enough," said Davenport. "She played great tennis and really deserved to win today."
Davenport didn't walk away from the Garden without a title. She teamed with Natasha Zvereva of Belarus on Saturday to win the doubles, defeating Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat of France 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-3.
The doubles winners share $200,000, with the losers earning $100,000.
Davenport won six tournaments this year as she became the first American-born woman to end the year ranked No. 1 since Chris Evert in 1981. And with the $250,000 she earned for her appearance in the singles final, Davenport pocked $350,000 for the week.
