It's mind over matter for Hingis<\/p>\n
By Arif Suryobuwono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If the world number one female tennis player
\nSteffi Graf, at the start of her phenomenal career, was dubbed
\n\"Frulein Vorhand\" because of her excellent forehand, what should
\nthe youngest Wimbledon champion in history Martina Hingis be
\ncalled?<\/p>\n
\"Frulein Kopf\" (literally Miss Head), her mother and coach
\nMelanie Hingis said spontaneously, referring to her daughter's
\nsmartness.<\/p>\n
Quipping that forehands, backhands and other strokes in tennis
\nare merely of secondary importance, Melanie said, in a staccato
\ntone, that the most important thing in tennis is \"the thinking\"
\nor \"the gray cells\" of the brain as Agatha Christie's Hercule
\nPoirot would put it.<\/p>\n
Martina seemed more than annoyed when I refer to her as such.
\n\"Everyone knows that I am smart on court but nobody calls me
\nthat. Well, of course I have to be smart on court because my
\nopponents are older than me.\"<\/p>\n
Martina became the youngest Wimbledon champion in history
\nafter winning the doubles title with Helena Sukova on Monday.
\nAlong with her Swiss teammates, the new grand slam champion is
\nhere for the Fed Cup second-round playoff against Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The 15 years, 286 day-old then said that Steffi might have an
\nexcellent forehand but \"my backhand is better than Steffi's.\"<\/p>\n
That was at least the answer that she finally, inadvertently
\ngave to my question two days earlier when I asked her which was
\nher best stroke. She initially answered that all strokes were of
\nequal importance to her and that \"you shall see for yourself
\nlater\" which of the strokes is the best.<\/p>\n
The Czech-born Swiss claims that she always wants to be
\nherself. She said that she does not want to be compared to other
\nplayers and that she has no tennis idol even though her first
\nname, Martina, was chosen by her tennis-obsessed mother who
\nadored the Czech-born tennis legend Martina Navratilova, whom she
\nalso used to idolize.<\/p>\n
Fun, motivation<\/p>\n
Back to her mother's \"Frulein Kopf,\" which she might, in the
\nfirst instance, mistake for the way of thinking of a young
\nunmarried lady, Martina said that smartness was of course
\nimportant, but for her, fun and motivation played the major role
\nin tennis.<\/p>\n
Judging from her answers, Martina is indeed smart. She
\nstraightforwardly cuts any questions that she does not like, or
\nperhaps is unable, to answer. When I asked her what was the most
\nimportant thing in life, she said she would not answer that
\nquestion because it had nothing to do with tennis.<\/p>\n
About her father, who is separated from her mother, she won't
\nsay more than \"I do not miss him.\"<\/p>\n
She is also diplomatic. When I asked her whether she is
\nattached to her mother, who has been coaching her since she was
\nthree years old, she said that she did not train with a world
\nfamous coach such as John Newcombe but with her mother. When I
\npressed her by asking whether she is dependent on her mother, she
\nfinally said, \"No, no more.\"<\/p>\n
Martina was born in Kosice, Slovakia, on Sept. 30, 1980. She
\nmoved to Switzerland at the age of seven. She keeps a horse named
\nMontana and a Labrador named Zorro. She takes photographs of the
\npets with her wherever she travels.<\/p>\n
Her favorite court surface is clay, on which she has recorded
\nmost of her victories.<\/p>\n
Her greatest victory thus far, she said, was the one over Graf
\nin early May in Rome while her most disappointing loss was to
\nNana Miyagi in Key Biscayne, Florida, last year.<\/p>\n
Martina plays not only tennis, but also soccer, hockey and
\nbasketball. She is also an active swimmer, horse rider and skier.
\n\"Those kinds of sports greatly enhance my movement,\" said Martina
\nwho trains at tennis for only one and a half to two hours a day
\nand spends the rest of the time on other sports.<\/p>\n
Despite her very young age and her tight tournament schedules,
\nMartina does not seem to be suffering from burnout, as Olympic
\nchampion Jennifer Capriati did.<\/p>\n
According to International Tennis Federation (ITF) vice-
\npresident and chairman of the Fed Cup committee Heinz Grimm, the
\nITF has set an age limit of 16 for girls who want to fully turn
\npro.<\/p>\n
\"Girls below 16 such as Martina are allowed to turn pro but
\nnot fully. This means that they can tour only for a certain
\nnumber of weeks beginning from the age of 14,\" Grimm said.<\/p>\n
Thus, as the girl gets older, the number of tournaments which
\nshe can participate in increases proportionally until she turns
\n16, he explained.<\/p>\n
Martina says she does not feel any burden of being famous
\nworldwide. Nor does she feel the burden of the tight tournament
\nschedules she has. She says that even though she does not go to
\nschool and only learns English and French with a private teacher,
\ntime permitting, she does not feel lonely.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, I don't have schoolmates. But that is compensated by the
\nmany friends from the tennis circle I am in,\" she said.<\/p>",
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