A Rewind To The Golden Age Of Women's Tennis Part 1

Today. 2010. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Samantha Stosur, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova. But zoom back a slight more than a decade ago, and there are only two people here that were on the 1998 list. Of course, they are the Williams sisters.

1998. The new generation. No more Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Aranxta Sanchez Vicario, or Jana Novotna. They might win a few more slams, but they are in the twilight of their careers. Meanwhile, the young stars are just reaching the sunrise in their soon to be illustrious careers. Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport.

1998 saw a different women win each slam. Like she did the year before, the court- smart Martina Hingis won the Australian Open. Then the veteran Sanchez-Vicario took the French Open crown, defeating Queen of Clay Monica Seles. Jana Novotna finally won her grand slam singles title at Wimbledon, erasing heart-breaking memories of here two previous champion matches at Wimbledon. One of the last serve and volley players to win a grand slam.  

And in the season's last chance for a grand slam trophy, Lindsay Davenport took the honor. The top three players of the year were Lindsay "Bagel" Davenport, Martina "Chucky" Hingis, and although not a slam-winner that year, Venus "Athleticism" Williams. 

A few controversial things happened in 1999. Before the final singles match at the Australian Open, Martina Hingis called Amelie Mauresmo, her final opponent, "half a man." Hingis didn't know what was to happen in the second slam, which was, in of all places, in Mauresmo's home country....Hingis bagged the Australian Open for the third time in a row, putting her just one behind the record holder's of the most Australian Open titles.  

The French Open had a controversial moment, too. The French crowd at Roland Garros wanted to punish Hingis for her "bullying" of Amelie Maursemo. In the champion  match- up of Martina Hingis against the all-time-great Steffi Graf, Hingis was three points from the trophy.

But the crowd, certain to crown Graf, booed and jeered Hingis after many inadvisable actions Martina Hingis committed. With almost every single person in the crowd booing and whistling at her, Hingis mentally collapsed, and Graf claimed the title, even weathering an underhanded serve!  

Lindsay Davenport beat Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon final. Martina Hingis was in the US Open final against Serena Williams, who was in to get revenge on Hingis. Hingis was mentally and physically tired after a thrilling match-up with Venus Williams the previous match. Serena took advantage of that and claimed her first grand slam title. The top tier players were Hingis, Davenport, Williams, Williams, and Graf, who went away from the game that year, while holding the world rank of No. 3.

Before the 2000s started, the players already had made their legacies. Venus Williams was surely destined to win multiple slams one day, while sister Serena would continue her competitive mentality and win several more majors. Martina Hingis was never really the same again after the 1999 French Open final, making only three slam finals in the 2000s, while having made nine grand slam finals in the late 90's. Davenport lived up to her expectations, and Jennifer Capriati was finally coming back.