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Hingis needs to improve serve
Martina Hingis' obsession with keeping the No. 1 spot in women's tennis could hurt her career in the long run. The 20-year-old needs to take time away from the circuit to work on the weakest part of her game: her second serve. Playing matches in tournament after tournament to gain ranking points doesn't give her the opportunity to strengthen this vital area. In recent matches against other top players, the Hingis serve has come under pressure. It's clear that the likes of the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport are zeroing in on a perceived flaw in her game. Hingis burst onto the scene by claiming the 1997 Australian Open as a 16-year-old to be the youngest winner of a Grand Slam in the modern era. In the next two years, she won a total of five Grand Slams including the 1997 Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. In the two years since, Hingis has come away empty-handed from the biggest four events in tennis, and yet has held the No. 1 ranking for almost the entire time. The reason? While Hingis has maintained her position by winning smaller tournaments, the standard of the WTA circuit has dramatically risen. We've seen the emergence of the Williams sisters, the maturing of Davenport and Capriati and new threats like Belgium's Kim Clijsters and Russian Elena Dementieva. Hingis needs to devote several weeks away from competitive matches to develop a kick serve or even a Marcelo Rios-style slice serve to make herself less vulnerable. A not-so-grueling schedule would also reduce the wear and tear on her body. Remember her lack of power compared to the big hitters in the game means that she is usually doing a lot more running than her opponents in the big matches. We've seen how dangerous Venus and Serena Williams are when they play only a select number of tournaments. At her best, Hingis is simply a delight to watch. She is a graceful and intelligent player who can dictate a match through the variety of angles and pace on her shots. She is also a great fighter and really believes in herself, even while facing apparent defeat. But the bar has risen so high on the women's tour that she can no longer "get by" with her tactical shrewdness and classic strokes. She needs a weapon while serving. Like or not, the serve is the most important shot in tennis. Steffi Graf reigned supreme for almost a decade despite not being able to hit a consistent topspin backhand, yet her strong serve and electrifying forehand allowed her to get away with it. Look at how an improved service has helped Andre Agassi. The best men's player in the world now knows that he has nothing to fear when going into matches against the likes of Pete Sampras, even on grass courts. Don't be surprised if the one-time "Wimbledon avoider" wins his second men's singles title at the All England Club this July. If her opponents continue to tee off on her service, it's unlikely that there are too many more Grand Slams in the future of the Swiss Miss. Hingis probably expected to dominate far more than she actually has once she took over the top ranking from the Queen of the 1990s, Graf. Today she is world No. 1 on the computer only, as many of her rivals no longer consider her invincible. It will be an interesting test of character to see how Martina responds to this biggest challenge of her career. Australian-born Jason Dasey is an anchor for World Sport, a 30-minute sports highlights and news program shown on CNNSI and CNN International.
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