牽手和分手來自同一雙手

Injury-hit Hingis Regrets Playing
Friday, 29 June, 2007

Martina Hingis admitted after her straight sets defeat in the third round today that she should never have entered this Wimbledon.

Forced to pull out of the French Open last month with a lingering left hip injury, the 1997 Wimbledon winner was told by doctors six days before these Championships began that the problem was only 60 or 70 per cent healed.

But desperate not to miss a second successive Slam tournament, the Swiss former world No. 1 chose to go ahead anyway. She paid the price late this afternoon on Court Two, the notorious “Graveyard of Champions”, by going out in straight sets to Laura Granville, world ranked 77.

“I shouldn’t have been playing,” conceded Hingis. “Probably at the end of the day, it wasn’t the smartest decision. When I first got the injury two months ago, I said I wouldn’t come back until I’m super percent healthy. But then it kind of gets tiring when all you do is watch others. That’s why I didn’t want to miss out on Wimbledon after I missed the French.

“I haven’t been able to run very much. Workouts are just on the bike – things without pounding. I used to run for a couple of hours a day. When you can’t do that, you have cardio work that needs to be done, but I have been able to do it. When I get home, I’ll have a couple more MRI tests to see how it is.”

Then she sighed and added: “The draw was quite open here. I wish I could have done better.”

Although today’s defeat will naturally make headlines, it is debatable whether it really amounted to a big shock. Seeded nine here, Hingis struggled so much in her first round match against the British wildcard Naomi Cavaday that she was forced to fend off two match points.

After that match she ruled herself out as a contender for the title this Wimbledon – correctly, as it turned out. Her second round match promised better but today against the experienced American, 26-year-old Hingis was never in contention. Just like last year, her Wimbledon has ended at the third round – but she was able to see this in a positive light.

“I definitely see this as a success, having won a couple of rounds and come through the second round after being match points down in the first. I’m happy that I’m getting healthier again. That’s the most important thing.

“I am confident it will get better. I was doing rehab stuff four or five hours a day – lots of stretching, relaxing the muscles to give the bone a chance to breathe and heal. But playing tennis doesn’t help. The US Open is a long way ahead. Hopefully until then I can definitely do whatever I need to do for the next four or five weeks until the next tournament.”

Written by Kate Battersby

from the official website of Wimbledon 2007

想當初1997年公主還是16歲的時候，就是在溫網的中央球場一戰成名的! 十年後，卻落寞的以直落二敗給一個拿外卡打進會內賽的選手，這在當時應該是一件不可思議的事情吧。不過網球賽就是這樣多變，還記得有一年公主以Seed 1的身分參賽，居然首輪就意外的大爆冷門淘汰，這算是所有在我印象中的最難忘的一場了。從年輕的網壇小魔女到成熟的網壇公主，雖然只是十年的時間，不過卻感覺格外的漫長... 希望能在有生之年能走進Wimbledon，親眼看公主在草地上奔跑，這是一輩子都要追求的夢想。

雖然今年早早的在R3止步，不過對於曾經因腳踝舊傷困擾而退休的公主，能重返前十已經是件不可能的任務了，且今年還榮獲WTA最佳復出獎。對所有公主球迷來說，能看到公主健康的在球場上揮拍，已經是最幸福的事了，還能有什麼奢求呢? 

We all wait for you at US Open, our princess, Hingis.