The rise, fall, and failed resurrection of Martina Hingis

For the past several months, I’ve been wondering what happened to former world No. 1 Martina Hingis’ comeback bid in the WTA. If I can recall, she made it to as high as No. 6 overall last year after winning a couple of titles, though none a Grand Slam.

Until I learned of her alleged “cocaine” use that forced her to announce her second retirement (Just like Mike). The reason behind her first retirement was self frustration; she couldn’t match the muscled players like the Williamses and Mauresmo power for power and injuries started to nag her body. This time, she said she just wanted to avoid facing such “horrendous” accusation, and so retirement was the option.

You see, Hingis was my ex-fiancée. I proposed marriage to her during the Finals of the Australian Open in 1997 when she defeated Mary Pierce to become the first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam singles event.

From then on, we were inseparable. We always spent time in the living room. I sit on the couch and she was on television.

What made me fell in love with her was her superb tennis. A close second was her charming smile. She was the best tactician on the tennis court. She outsmarted every opponent, playing decoy and then attacking with precision shots. She was the modern Navratilova, after whom she was named.

Success came to her at a very young age. Fame, fortune, and youth combined are very lethal, unless one has tremendous self-control. Hingis, perhaps, lost her self-control that her fall came so suddenly after a 209-week stint as World No. 1 in women’s tennis and setting several “youngest-ever” records in the sport.

She made a comeback in 2005, but she was never the same threat to the throne now held by Henin and eyed for by the Russians.

Since Hingis’ fall, my excitement watching women’s tennis has dwindled. Yeah, Sharapova is stunning, but only physically. The others who really master the women’s game are those who Hingis termed as “man-like.”

I longed for finesse, guile, and beauty in women’s tennis. Only Hingis rolled all these under one sleeve. But she’s gone.

I miss the Swiss Miss.

Celtics, No Way!

For the record, I don’t hate the Celtics. In fact, the first NBA players I’ve known were Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The Celtics were great when I was growing up. I also like Paul Pierce because I’ve seen him in person and I’ve dished out eight assists to him in a shootout game at a local Nike event years back.

What I don’t like about the Celtics right now is their sudden clinging to the idea of greatness just because they have Garnett, Allen and Pierce. They have the best NBA record now, yes. But I believe the team is still immature and not ripe for an NBA title, at least for this year. (Apologies to Celtics die-hards.)

I even have a list of FIVE EARLY LESSONS that the Celtics need to learn before they can be considered a team destined for the championship.

1. DON’T BRAG ‘TIL YOU GET THE RIGHT TO. I hate it when Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce impose their superiority on other players, especially of weaker teams. Boston is leading by double digits and Garnett makes a dunk or Pierce makes a 3-point play, then they stare at the opposing players or act like a possessed superpower, adding insult to losing. Did Michael Jordan ever do that? If Jordan sometimes did, well he has the right to because he has proven his greatness so many times. If Garnett and Pierce believe they are great, they don’t need to overemphasize it. Sometimes being calm works more effectively.

2. DON’T BE HUNGRY FOR OFFENSE. Boston is now capable of scoring at will. But this doesn’t mean they should overwhelm their opponents with point production. Have patience in offense, the speed of making the basket doesn’t count. Make plays and make defense part of the offense. This will later on be good for the team. Rajon Rondo is a better point guard than Tony Allen but TA makes good decisions in offense most of the time.

3. EARLY WINS DON’T TRANSLATE TO A CHAMPIONSHIP. Don’t ever think that the playoffs will yield the same result as the regular season. Win all you want in the regular season, but make sure you still have energy to last you ‘til the next round and round and round. Superiority is not established in the regular season. Detroit knows that so well now. Don’t mind making records, they are just for trivia games.

4. BASKETBALL IS A MIND GAME. Think not about beating the opponent, but how the team can play better. And much better the next time. Think of other ways of beating the opponent than just by scoring. Power is useless if the mind is not working along with it. Don’t rejoice if you beat a weaker team. Be humble when you lose. Losing is okay if you get rewarded with weaknesses discovered and flaws identified.

5. IN BASKETBALL, RESPECT IS ALSO EARNED. Michael Jordan was so good the refs let him do his job on the court without interruptions of the whistle. He could get away with petty on-court crimes because of his reputation and because he gained the respect of both the players and the refs. In the same way, the Pistons can sometimes gain the benefit of the doubt on the defensive end because they have long been an impressive defensive team. The Celtics will not receive favorable calls or non-calls just because they have Garnett, Allen and Pierce. They have still to work out long and hard for that.

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There goes (again) my unsolicited advices; so never mind if they don’t reach Boston at all. ;-)