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Washington Kastles

Martina Hingis to Play in 25th Grand Slam Final

September 5, 2014 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Fourteen months following her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Martina Hingis is rewriting her remarkable resume yet again.

Hingis will play in her 25th Grand Slam final after she and Flavia Pennetta defeated No. 3 seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open on Thursday.

Since becoming a Hall-of-Famer on July 13, 2013, Hingis has led the Kastles to two consecutive World TeamTennis titles. Now the Swiss star is one victory from capturing the 99th Grand Slam championship for a past or present Kastle (Serena Williams could make it 100 in singles).

Hingis and Pennetta meet No. 4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina for the title on Saturday afternoon.

The women's doubles final is scheduled after both men's singles semifinals, which begin at 12 pm. CBS will air live US Open coverage from 12 to 6 pm, with Tennis Channel expected to pick up the women's doubles final thereafter. Don't miss a moment of Hingis' match by watching uninterrupted live streaming at USOpen.org.

Hingis and Pennetta made their WTA debut against Makarova and Vesnina at Eastbourne on June 16 -- a 7-5, 6-2 victory that should help their confidence inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Playing their fourth tournament overall and first Grand Slam, the Swiss and Italian have beaten three seeded teams without dropping a set at the US Open.

Nine of Hingis' 15 Grand Slam titles have come in women's doubles, most recently alongside Anna Kournikova at the 2002 Australian Open.

"I've got goose bumps," Hingis told the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd on Thursday. "The last two or three games, it was like pure tension. I was really nervous; I don't remember being so nervous in 2002."

Within 15 minutes, Hingis and Pennetta jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Black and Mirza as the Kastle hit winners with her serve, volley, forehand and backhand.

After Mirza held for 1-4, she and Black earned four break points on Pennetta's serve to get back in the first set. Pennetta saved three of them with unreturnable serves and the fourth with an inside-out forehand winner.

The World No. 12 singles player went on to hold, as did Black, leaving Hingis to serve out the set at 5-2. That she did, hitting an ace to give her team a set point that Pennetta converted with a forehand volley winner.

In the second set, however, Black covered the net like the former World No. 1 doubles player that she is, running off 10 consecutive points to give her and Mirza a 3-0 lead.

But Black and Mirza blew a break point chance on Hingis' serve at 3-0 and another on Pennetta's at 4-1 -- two missed opportunities that would come back to haunt them.

Hingis and Pennetta targeted Mirza, the least-accomplished doubles player on the court, to win nine straight points and even the set at 4-4.

As the serve shifted to Mirza, Black tried to regain momentum by nailing a backhand volley into Hingis' body. But the Swiss was ready for it, reflexing her own backhand volley into the open court and out of her opponents' reach.

Mirza went on to miss three groundstrokes and gift a 5-4 advantage to Hingis and Pennetta.

Hingis hit two volley winners and Mirza made two forehand errors as Pennetta served out the match and sent her team into Saturday's final, which you can watch in its entirety live at USOpen.org.

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