She is the youngest player this century to win her first Grand Slam. Now Martina Hingis is on the verge of becoming the youngest in history to win her second.
She is unbeaten this year and going after her second straight Grand Slam title following her victory in January at the Australian Open.Hingis' opponent today in the French Open final is Iva Majoli. A victory would put the 16-year-old Swiss star in a select group of women who have won the Australian and French Open in the same year: Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
She may lack the power of Court, Graf or Seles, but Hingis has an understanding of the game that surpasses all of them at her age.
When Hingis won the Australian Open she became the youngest Grand Slam winner since 1887, at the age of 16 years, 3 months and 26 days. If she wins Saturday, she will be the youngest winner of two Grand Slams, at barely 16 years, 8 months.
The previous youngest was Lottie Dod, who was 16 years, 10 months when she won her second Wimbledon title in 1888.
Hingis is an overwhelming favorite to win the French Open title over Majoli and take her seventh consecutive tournament and 41st match of the year, including three Hopman Cup victories.
What most people count as the unofficial final for the tournament - Hingis vs. Seles - took place in the semifinals with Hingis winning in three sets.
Seles, who won the French Open three times, knows why Hingis is unbeaten for the year.
"Martina is really good everywhere," she said. "She doesn't have a weakness that you can say `OK, if I do that, I'll win the point.' That's why she's so good. She's tough mentally."
Hingis became the youngest No. 1 when she supplanted Graf in March, passing Seles as the youngest top-ranked player in history.
Majoli has a victory over Hingis last year, one of Hingis's 16 losses in 1996. However the 19-year-old Croatian lost to her three times since, including a 6-1, 6-3 rout in Paris indoors in February.
"I just think of her as another player," Majoli said. "I know she's great. She's done so much. She's playing great tennis."
Seeded ninth, Majoli could become the lowest seeded woman player in the Open era to win a French Open title.
"I really have nothing to lose," she said. "I can really just play the best tennis of my life."
Majoli has been fighting a cold and said she will get as much rest as possible for the final.
Hingis had a knee operation more than six weeks ago after injuring herself in a fall from a horse.
"I didn't know what to expect from myself from this tournament," she said. "It's never easy to come back from a surgery."
Hingis said she is still getting treatment on her knee, up to an hour a day. She didn't get much rest Friday. She and Aranxta Sanchez Vicario lost 10-8 in the fifth set of the women's doubles semifinals against Natasha Zvereva and Gigi Fernandez.