MELBOURNE, Australia -- Beaten Australian Open
finalist Martina Hingis admitted on Saturday she had nothing
left to give during her chastening 6-4, 6-3 defeat at the hands
of American Jennifer Capriati.
Top seed and world number one Hingis looked a shadow of the
player who ousted both Serena and Venus Williams on her run to
the final.
|  | | Martina Hingis let her frustrations show during her match vs. Jennifer Capriati in the Aussie Open women's final. |
It was the fifth time in as many years she had contested the
Australian Open final, but the second in succession Hingis had
lost.
The Swiss 20-year-old has now failed to win five of the last
six Grand Slam finals she has made, dating back to the U.S. Open
in 1998.
The last of her five career Grand Slam triumphs was
celebrated at Melbourne Park in 1999, and Hingis revealed she is
likely to sacrifice her involvement in women's doubles in a bid
to arrest the alarming slide in her singles fortunes.
The winner of eight Grand Slam doubles titles said: "It was
one match too many.
"I could barely walk over the last three days. I was dead.
My feet were stuck to the ground," Hingis said. "I am considering not playing doubles again in Grand Slams. I'm not as strong physically as the other girls and it is
tough to have to play so many matches.
"I know now I need to relax and rest as much as I can, so I
will probably not play doubles. In the past, there have been different reasons for me to
lose a Grand Slam.
"But mostly, I thought it was things that I did wrong. This
time, I don't think I did anything wrong. It was just too much."
Hingis had endured a dramatic three-set quarterfinal with Serena
Williams on Wednesday that lasted 2:19.
The following day, she emphatically brushed aside Venus
Williams 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.
It was the first time at a Grand Slam tournament that she
had overcome both sisters, and many felt the result of the final
would be a foregone conclusion -- in Hingis' favor.
But Hingis, who secured the Australian Open titles between
1997-99, was broken by Capriati in the first game of the match.
Capriati built a 5-1 lead before Hingis briefly threatened
by coming back to trail 4-5, but Capriati held firm and the
second set was a similar story.
Hingis, whose run with partner Monica Seles in the women's
doubles ended at the semifinals stage, said: "Mentally, I just
didn't have it any longer.
"I never thought that I had won the tournament when I beat
the Williamses. But having to play the Williams sisters, the doubles, and
then come out again after one day's rest was too much. When you are 5-1 down in the first set, it is almost too late to start a comeback.
"It's hard to find a solution to someone (Capriati) you have
beaten five times before when suddenly they are playing so well.
"I couldn't fight when I needed to. Having to do that three,
four days in a row over the limit was too much."
Hingis paid tribute to Capriati, the 12th seed.
"I've always said she's a great player," said Hingis. "I really have a lot of respect for her game. On the court, she always belongs to the top five. I wasn't surprised by the way she played. She didn't give me any chances to come back.
"It is great for her to win her first ever Grand Slam title.
I remember how it felt - it was a great feeling. Just
overwhelming, you get goose bumps and everything."
Hingis, who threw a tantrum when she lost the 1999 French
Open final to Steffi Graf, took this defeat much better.
She also insisted she would be back to claim more Grand Slam
singles glory in the future.
"I think there are worse disasters in life than what
happened to me today," she said. I can still smile. I'm still healthy and I have more
opportunities to come. For me life goes on, and I know I still played some great
tennis here.
"I beat both the Williams sisters and no-one is more
powerful than them. When you're young, some things do come easily to you, but
if you have to work harder as you get older, I am prepared to do
that.
"Tennis is the priority for me still. I have gained a lot of
experience now and I can build on that for the future.
"Hopefully I will be back to win the Australian Open and
other Grand Slams again."
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