Nobody expected this final!
On Saturday (10 p.m., Eurosport live), Emma Raducanu (18 / Great Britain) and Leylah Fernandez (19 / Canada) face each other in the women’s final of the US Open. The first teen final since 1999 in a Grand Slam.
Back then, on September 11, 1999, 22 years ago to the day, the 17-year-old Serena Williams (USA) defeated the one year older Swiss Martina Hingis 6: 3, 7: 6. Since then, no teenagers have met in a Grand Slam final.
Foto: picture alliance/KEYSTONE
“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/martina-hingis-lebt-heute-in-feusisberg-schweiz-ist-seit-juli-2018-mit-ihrenm-frueheren-sportarzt- h-a1bc39614d214ebc92b31b35137429a0-77643832 / image / 2.image.jpg “/> Martina Hingis now lives in Feusisberg (Switzerland), has been married to her former sports doctor Harald Leemann since July 2018 and has been a mother since 2019Foto: picture alliance/KEYSTONE
Hingis to BILD: “In my time it was normal. I won the final against Venus Williams in New York in 1997, when we were both 17. Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, I, we were all number 1 as teenagers. If you hadn’t won a Grand Slam tournament when you were 20, you had basically done something wrong, was the common opinion. “
The fact that there aren’t that many teenage finals anymore is mainly due to a rule change. Up to the age of 16, female players are only allowed to play ten professional tournaments a year. This is to protect the young people from being burned to the ground.
Hingis can’t do much with that. “I’ve never been in favor of this rule. If you have what it takes, you should play with the women. You have to give the girls the chance to adapt to the higher level. Many then fail to do it because they spend two years at junior tournaments. “
In the 80s and 90s women were often still half children when they came on the tour. “We were allowed to start when we were 14 and turned our horns off. Jennifer Capriati was only 13. You saw yourself as a Grand Slam contender early on, and then some of them quickly won their first titles, ”said the five-time Grand Slam winner.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/eine-szene-aus-dem-us-open-finale-1999-das-martina-hingis-gegen-serena-williams-verlor-70838f0f2f01499eb4a30972d0e1f381-77643838/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Eine Szene aus dem US-Open-Finale 1999, das Martina Hingis gegen Serena Williams verlor" data-zoom-title="Eine Szene aus dem US-Open-Finale 1999, das Martina Hingis gegen Serena Williams verlor
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A scene from the 1999 US Open final, which Martina Hingis lost to Serena WilliamsFoto: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
And who is currently the best teen? “Leylah has already played against us Swiss women in the Fed Cup. She is very athletic and has made a giant leap since the beginning of 2020. And back then she was already playing great tennis, ”said the former number 1.
“I also admire Emma, because she has three more matches under her belt thanks to the qualification. Hats off to how she pulls this off. She plays super nice tennis, calmly, calmly, ”says Hingis.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/emma-raducanu-gilt-als-komplette-spielerin-sie-hat-noch-kein-turnier-auf-der-wta-tour-gewonnen-98894c7b663a4f2da384c9a54c3f1450-77643842/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Emma Raducanu gilt als komplette Spielerin. Sie hat noch kein Turnier auf der WTA-Tour gewonnen" data-zoom-title="Emma Raducanu gilt als komplette Spielerin. Sie hat noch kein Turnier auf der WTA-Tour gewonnen
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Emma Raducanu is considered a complete player. She has not yet won a tournament on the WTA tourPhoto: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
The following applies to both: “You have nothing to lose. That was also the case for me. You think you have a lot of time and it doesn’t work out, there are still ten years ahead of you. But at 25 you say to yourself: ‘Something should come slowly.’ That’s how I felt when I made my comeback. “
It is clear that, regardless of the outcome of the final, a lot will rattle on the two girls. The media hype surrounding Raducanu and Fernandez is already enormous. “Avalanches are rolling towards them, you can’t learn that. When I was 16, I won a final in one hour, the interviews after that lasted three hours. “
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/leylah-fernandez-wurde-waehrend-der-us-open-19-jahre-alt-sie-macht-sich-ihr-schoenstes-geburtstagsgesc-759f3cf30d5a4f7581ecf551f1edab1f-77643844/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Leylah Fernandez wurde während der US Open 19 Jahre alt. Sie macht sich ihr schönstes Geburtstagsgeschenk gerade selbst" data-zoom-title="Leylah Fernandez wurde während der US Open 19 Jahre alt. Sie macht sich ihr schönstes Geburtstagsgeschenk gerade selbst
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Leylah Fernandez turned 19 during the US Open. She is making her best birthday present for herselfFoto: Getty Images
And you have to learn to deal with it. Hingis speaks from his own experience: “It has become a show business. The girls can no longer cope with that. Such a victory changes life. Many were the next Martina Hingis. But 70/80 percent of tennis is part of the head. If that’s not true, it’s down the mountain. Because no one forgets to play tennis itself. “
The big difference to her time is the social media. “Too many photo shoots, too much Instagram, a lot of posters that make you see yourself big, training and concentration inevitably suffer. The priority should be a tennis player, ”said Hingis.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/so-wie-am-11-september-1999-serena-williams-l–und-martina-hingis-vor-match-beginn-dastanden-werde-462c5e71ed034814be91e70da371a277-77643848/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="So wie am 11. September 1999 Serena Williams (l.) und Martina Hingis vor Match-Beginn dastanden, werden sich genau 22 Jahre später auch Emma Raducanu und Leylah Fernandez ablichten lassen" data-zoom-title="So wie am 11. September 1999 Serena Williams (l.) und Martina Hingis vor Match-Beginn dastanden, werden sich genau 22 Jahre später auch Emma Raducanu und Leylah Fernandez ablichten lassen
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Just as Serena Williams (left) and Martina Hingis stood before the start of the match on September 11, 1999, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez will also be photographed exactly 22 years laterFoto: Sygma/Getty Images
And further: “At that time I also had to cancel a lot of things: interviews, shootings, not everyone was always happy. But that’s the job of the manager and the environment, ”she says.
Naomi Osaka is the latest example where players can break under the pressure and everything that lies ahead, even if they have already been very successful, were number 1 and won four Grand Slam titles.
<img class="photo ondemand zoomable" src="https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/naomi-osaka-nimmt-die-naechsten-wochen-eine-auszeit-beendet-vielleicht-sogar-die-saison-martina-hingi-0d5f6366424a47debbd78bc74fb7c149-77643852/2,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg" width="1280" alt="Naomi Osaka nimmt die nächsten Wochen eine Auszeit, beendet vielleicht sogar die Saison. Martina Hingis kann das verstehen" data-zoom-title="Naomi Osaka nimmt die nächsten Wochen eine Auszeit, beendet vielleicht sogar die Saison. Martina Hingis kann das verstehen
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Naomi Osaka is taking a break for the next few weeks, maybe even ending the season. Martina Hingis can understand thatPhoto: ED JONES/AFP
“Naomi has to find the right balance between everything. That’s my point of view, that’s what I wish her. She doesn’t play as one is used to. If the tennis isn’t right, other problems arise. A little distance is good, so the time-out she is taking is the right one. But you should look for the faults in yourself first, not in others. “
Hopefully Raducanu and Fernandez are in good hands with their teams. “Both look very natural, seem very well prepared, are good, pretty girls. Now it depends on your environment. “
And who will win now? “Very difficult question. Both are very similar, athletic, fast. Leylah plays a bit more varied with slice and stop. She is a year older and therefore more experienced, had the harder draw with Osaka, Kerber, Switolina and Sabalenka. That’s why I guess it. “
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