Hingis ends season on a high

Hingis picks up her ninth trophy of the year Keystone

Martina Hingis has ended the year on a winning note, securing her ninth title of 2000 at the season-ending Chase Championships in New York.

Hingis had been strong favourite to lift her second Chase Championships title after making it into the final against America’s Monica Seles, a player who had previously beaten Hingis just twice in 13 meetings.

But Seles showed incredible determination to take the first set. Serving to stay in the set at 5-6 down, she needed nine deuces before finally taking Hingis to a tie-break.

The American’s resolve reaped immediate reward. After a hard fought tie-break in which neither player managed to hold two service points in a row, Seles won through by seven points to five.

If the crowd at Madison Square Gardens found it hard to calm down after such an exciting opening set, Hingis had no such difficulties.

After being broken in her first service game of the new set, the Swiss player broke back straight away in the next game. Increased pressure from Hingis then saw Seles drop serve twice more, allowing Hingis to take the second set 6-4.

A weary third set saw both players broken on three of their first four service games, but when Hingis broke Seles once more to take a 5-4 lead, the end of the match and the season was in sight.

With both players visibly nursing cramped legs, Hingis successfully held serve to complete a hard-fought 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 victory.

swissinfo with agencies