2014 US Open Women's Doubles Championship Preview

It is very rare I write or feature a doubles match in this blog. Actually this is the first time I will feature it. Maybe because of one player, that is, my personal favorite of mine, former Grand Slam Champion and former world No.1, Hall of Famer Martina Hingis. Yes, the main reason is because of her. I was quite surprise that she enters 2014 US Open as an unseeded team partnering Flavia Pennetta. I tried to see their progress. They upset great teams en route to their first Slam final together against No.4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Can Hingis/Pennetta partnership add another Slam trophy to their cabinet?

When Serena Williams Escapes

We all know that Serena Williams has a power that is too strong for the rest of her contemporaries. She often outplayed her opponents using her dangerous groundstrokes and she even won points not exerting too much effort using her serve. She rarely gave up matches and even she's on the verge of losing it, she ended up winning it.

Serena may not be like her rival Martina Hingis, which sometimes denied her power by constructing points so well like playing a chess. But above all, Hingis is very much not like Serena as she doesn't possess power, athleticism, and huge serve. Who could ever think that their head-to-head record is as close as 7-6 in favor of Serena?

It's just one of the classic example of contrast in playing styles displayed back when they burst in the scene as teenagers sending message to the rest of the field that they can dominate the game.

The Rivalry That Defines Tennis Success

Tennis has been exciting and interesting to watch because of the established rivalry. And what's more interesting with a rivalry is the contrast of playing styles as well as personalities possessed by each player. Though, with today's game, it is also interesting to see who can conquer the other.

The great rivalry of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, who played 80 times throughout their careers with Navratilova edging Evert 43-37, have teamed up and captured two Grand Slam doubles titles: 1975 French Open and 1976 Wimbledon. Though, it is an unfair alliance as they truly dominated the women's tour in their prime but it is great to see that they were able to combine their contrasting styles to succeed as a doubles team.

Martina Hingis Considers a Comeback?

When I've read the news in Yahoo! Sports tennis column, that Martina Hingis might play WTA doubles after World Team Tennis season, I can't hold the excitement that I will be seeing her playing tennis again at the grandest stage. Is Hingis considering a comeback? Maybe but not sooner. But hopefully she will.

Currently, women's tennis is lacking, if not missing, the style of play that Hingis has - variety and finesse. So, it will be a good idea if Hingis do consider again a comeback.