OK, so Sloane Stephens won her first Grand Slam women's singles title in something of a yawner of over Madison Keys, in a match that was more historical than entertaining, and a dominant Rafael Nadal showed us why he's won so many (3 U.S. Opens now) in a straight-setter over unlikely finalist Kevin Anderson for the men's title.
That's where most of the attention is paid. Me included. But I just found out today that Martina Hingis did something quite remarkable -- she won her 25th Grand Slam title (5 in singles, 13 in doubles, and 7 in mixed doubles), and the 24th was also at the 2017 U.S. Open in the mixed doubles with Jamie Murray.
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| Murray and Hingis in the mixed doubles, U.S. Open 2017 |
Hingis made her relatively brief ascension to the top of the women's game playing a game like very few others have -- composed of finesse, point building and shot making, and not based as much on power hitting and baseline stalking. So she was soon eclipsed by the Williamses, even though in a couple of tournaments she had to defeat one Williams in the semis before facing another in the final. That didn't seem quite fair.
She retired from the singles, had some misadventures, and has unretired twice, and is now -- still -- playing world-class doubles. At age 37, that's a great achievement. She knows how to play the game.
This made me wonder -- where does she rank in terms of all Grand Slam titles? Well, she's fifth in the "modern era", though the woman in first place, Margaret Court, spanned the eras, because the Open era began in 1968, and Court won her titles from 1960-1975.
I hope Hingis wins a couple more before she's done. No reason to think she can't.
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