Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis has won the 2010 Manchester Masters Women's title after an impressive comeback to defeat Liverpool's Chloe Murphy.
The former world number one trailed 4-1 in the opening set before winning eight games in a row on her way to registering her fourth straight sets victory at the Northern Club this week.
"We've played for the second time now, today we had some really great points, some great rallies and she's got some potential."
Today’s final was a repeat of yesterday’s impressive display from Murphy, who pushed Hingis all the way in the Swiss’ most competitive match-up of the week. The 17-year-old excelled in a wonderfully endearing performance, wooing the crowd with her ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and winning a set of new fans in the process.
Hingis was made to work hard early on as the youngster from Aintree broke serve twice to take a 4-1 lead in the first set. Murphy later admitted that she put too much pressure on herself after a disappointing performance in her hometown of Liverpool last week. But with no expectations here today the 17-year-old was set free, sportingly encouraged by her legendary opponent as she turned heads in the biggest match of her career.
The prospect of a shock was soon on the cards but Hingis was not about to be outdone on finals day. The ‘Swiss Miss’ went on the aggressive, developing good depth in rally and forcing the youngster into errors as she came into the net. Hingis played her way back into the match and, with the momentum behind her, took the next five games to win the first set 6-4.
The 29-year-old continued to impose herself in the second, despite some fantastic variety from Murphy which won plaudits from her opponent and the Centre Court crowd. Murphy seemed to thrive on the relaxed atmosphere but the match was slipping away from her as Hingis tightened her grip on the title.
The Swiss had won eight games in a row before Murphy got on the scoreboard once again at 3-1. But her resistance only appeared to drive Hingis on as the competitive juices began to flow.
Murphy failed to win another game after that, as Hingis broke once more to go 5-1 ahead before serving out with an overhead smash to the win 6-4, 6-1.
However the 17-year-old remained positive after the match, despite failing to build on her early advantage: “I think the net changed after the first five games because nothing went over it after that! Hopefully I’ll be in Junior Wimbledon next year.”
Meanwhile, Hingis was full of praise for her opponent, and the Northern Club, in victory: “Definitely she’s picking up quickly on some of the shots; she’s got great hands and great feel.”
“It’s a beautiful place to be at, the court plays wonderful and every time we play here it’s a great experience. Thanks for coming out because we had a great time playing in front of you and hopefully this helps bring tennis into the clubs so the public can see some tennis outside of Wimbledon.”
manchestertennis.co.uk
Apparently she steam rolled over her first two opponents to win this. Things are looking very good for the doubles exhibitions and World Team Tennis :).
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