Together, they looked out toward the court, where their daughters were competing as a doubles team at the Chase Championships. In their own way, with their own methods, Melanie Molitor and Alla Kournikova had guided their daughters to the center stage of the Garden. Only one year separates the two players, but for the older Hingis, 20, her path to fame has made the difference in her maturity, development and level of success.
"I am very lucky with having my mom," Hingis said. "Anna has her mom, but it's different with me. My mom is also my coach, and she always shows me how to do things. That's why I'm where I am, and not everyone is as fortunate."
The proof was in her semifinal victory. Once Hingis, the savvy Swiss star, figured out how to systematically pluck the wings off the butterfly across the net, once she exuded the kind of composure that the improving Kournikova is still trying to master, Hingis ended her Russian friend's chance at further validating her off-court earnings by winning, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Once again, Kournikova exited a singles tournament, her 81st main draw tour event, without a title. Once again, for the fourth time in five years, Hingis finds herself in the Chase Championships final today, across from the sentimental favorite, Monica Seles. As if staring at the young Elena Dementieva through a tube, Seles displayed the sort of unobstructed focus she displayed in the early 90's. In retro fashion, Seles bore down brilliantly and fended off the defiant Dementieva, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
"I definitely had that focus until 1993," said Seles, who was stabbed in April of that year by G�nter Parche during a change-over in Hamburg, Germany, and dropped off the tour for two years. "Then I had it in bits and pieces. Then I had a couple of difficult years."
Two years ago, Seles's father died after a long illness. All at once, she had lost her friend, her coach and her guide. This year, there have been a couple of injuries, but her mind has been free.
"I think for the first time since 1993, this year, I really didn't have any very serious distractions in my life," said Seles, who has had her most consistent year since 1992. "It has been really nice to concentrate on tennis and enjoy the game like I did in the early 90's."
From the first point, she was staring the fuzz down on every ball. She came out with a dominating first set, committing only five unforced errors.
After she endured a burst of inside-out forehands by the 19-year-old Dementieva, Seles found her way to the final of the season-ending championship for the first time in eight years, and for perhaps the last time. She will not play next year when the championships move to Germany. In a way, this is her chance to recapture the early 90's.
Hingis, as usual, will stand in the way. Yesterday, she was the stubborn impediment to Kournikova's big moment.
Calmly, Hingis inspected the way Kournikova was controlling the match early on. When Kournikova stepped up to serve for the first set at 5-4, Hingis's strategic instincts kicked into gear.
Hingis started to attack Kournikova at the net, then unleashed a series of deep ground strokes to pin her on her heels. Suddenly, Kournikova was broken, and she never recovered.
In the second set, desperate to end points, she began risking every shot. She only played into Hingis's hands.
"I think with Martina, every time that you're up, she completely raises the level of her game," said Kournikova, whose loss of composure was registered in her four double faults in the second set. "She starts making no mistakes and playing really aggressively, coming to the net on everything. That's kind of tough. You feel like you're ahead, but still, you feel like she's coming right back at you."
In their 12th match against each other, 11 of which Kournikova has lost, Hingis's experience under pressure haunted her friend. One day, Kournikova, whose talent and athletic ability have paid off in a career- high ranking of No. 7 this year, may catch up with Hingis. So far, the head start Molitor has given her daughter has been enough to leave Hingis at No. 1. While players like Kournikova often crumble � she served up a record 31 double faults in a single match at the 1999 Australian Open � Hingis usually maintains her resolve.
But Hingis had to go through a crisis before finding this awareness. In 1999, after her petulant antics against Steffi Graf at the French Open, a rebellious Hingis went through an emotional mini-break from her mother. Now, the two are inseparable.
The same can be said of Kournikova and her mother. At first, Kournikova's mother had appeared to be the enabler for her daughter's distracted state. In the background of many photo shoots, there was Alla Kournikova. Now, both of them seem more concerned with the practice court.
"It's all about growing up a little bit," Hingis said. "Everybody has their own way to get through tough times. I think, with me, it was more of, you know, emotional, like the way I express myself.
"For a while, I was like going crazy now and then. So Anna has had to go through her serve thing and being insecure or something, I don't know."
In the past couple of months, Kournikova has grown � and set priorities.
In the past week, she has made it clear that she is all about tennis and nothing more. More focused and patient, Kournikova has revealed that the glossiest part of her portfolio may just be her game.
"Having this attention and all of this, it's so easy to go through what she has," Hingis said. "We're both very young. You have to learn how to deal with everything. I mean, you have to experience it."
Seles can attest to that, too.
MATCH POINTS
ANNA KOURNIKOVA and MARTINA HINGIS split the $200,000 first-place check after taking the doubles title. Hingis and Kournikova, seeded second, beat NICOLE ARENDT and MANON BOLLEGRAF, 6-2, 6-3. . . . With all of the injuries that have taken place this season, there is increasing pressure on the WTA to reduce the number of tournaments used to create the ranking. This year, it was an 18-tournament format. RICHARD WILLIAMS, the father of VENUS and SERENA, has suggested a 12-tournament system. "When I came on the tour, we were playing, I think, 13 or 14 tournaments," MONICA SELES, 26, said. "We thought that was way too much. I just hope for the longevity of the girls and the tour, that it's going to be taken down. They have already made steps next year. It's the best of 17.
"It's very difficult because women's tennis is so popular now and the tournaments all want us to play everywhere. It is difficult to say no. I think the tour is struggling with that."