Hingis Wins Chase Championships

NEW YORK (AP) â€” When the final tennis ball was struck at Madison Square Garden, a smile broke out on Monica Seles' face while Martina Hingis cried. <br><br>At first glance, it was hard to tell who

Monday, November 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” When the final tennis ball was struck at Madison Square Garden, a smile broke out on Monica Seles' face while Martina Hingis cried.

At first glance, it was hard to tell who had won the final Chase Championships of the Sanex WTA Tour.

In a way, they both were winners, although Hingis finished on top with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 victory.

``This is like the fifth Grand Slam, and to be able to win it and to come through with great tournaments, and winning here, I think I deserve now the respect of being No. 1,'' Hingis said after winning the season-ending title for the second time in three years.

Seles was also pleased, although she fell short in her bid to win her fourth Championship title.

``Definitely this year has been really great,'' Seles said. ``Probably the best year since '95 or '96 I had. It's been nice.''

This from a player who missed five months, including the first two of the year, with a stress fracture of her right foot. Seles returned at the end of February and promptly won Oklahoma City.

She would win two more titles in 2000, and the bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics.

Although she neither played nor practiced for a four-week stretch after retiring from her semifinal match in Tokyo with foot problems, Seles showed up at the Garden because the Championships are heading to Munich, Germany, next year.

Seles has refused to play in Germany since being stabbed by a spectator while playing in a tournament in Hamburg in 1993 and her assailant was never jailed.

This is only her fourth Garden appearance since winning the last of her three titles in 1992. And it is the first time she had reached the semifinals â€” let alone the title match â€” since those days when she dominated women's tennis.

Hingis is no longer dominating the way she was in 1997, when she won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. And while she has been so consistent that she remains on top of the women's rankings, this was her first major title since winning the Australian Open in 1999, two months after she won here for the first time.

``Today I was very defensive, in a way,'' Hingis said. ``She had so much power, she took her chances, and she also served very well.''

They both used the entire court with their penetrating groundstrokes, trying to create a small opening in which to pound a winner. As the afternoon wore on, both spent time during the changeovers to stretch their tightening leg muscles. Seles had a trainer come on court and work on her hip flexor muscle.

``I think both of us were pretty tired at the end,'' Seles said. ``We were just talking in the locker room. We were both happy we didn't have to go three out of five.''

The best-of-five format was changed a year ago.

Hingis and Seles engaged in a classic in the final New York edition, with one getting the momentum only briefly before the other edged ahead.

Seles served for the first set in the 10th game, but was broken. Hingis had three set points in the 12th game â€” a 24-point miniature of the afternoon's competition â€” before they played the tiebreaker, which Seles won 7-5.

The first set took 56 minutes. The next two sets, while shorter, were just as intense.

In all, there were 14 breaks of serve. Seles finished with 53 winners â€” four more than Hingis â€” but had 31 unforced errors â€” five more than the champion.

``I just needed to believe in what I was doing out there and keep the faith, basically,'' Hingis said. ``I felt like I was tired, so I was like, `Come on, she can't play like this all the time.' But she would throughout the whole match. It was not too many ups-and-downs in the whole match.''

Seles agreed.

``I played some great tennis,'' she said, ``but Martina was just too tough there at the end.''

Serving for the match, Hingis double-faulted on the first championship point. But she followed with her fifth ace of the afternoon, then began crying with joy when a forehand service return by Seles found the tape, attempted to climb over but failed.

``I'm happy it's done. It's behind me,'' Hingis said of the 2-hour, 22-minute marathon. ``But it was definitely a very good match. I mean high level. It was a long one, too.''