TENNIS NEWS:WHEN AMELIE Mauresmo reached the final of the 1999 Australian Open as a 19-year-old, the word "frail" was not in anybody's mind. Despite losing to Switzerland's Martina Hingis, who referred to her as "half a man", many believed the hugely talented Frenchwoman, with a superlative top-spin single-handed backhand, would reel off a host of grand slams.
Yesterday she retired with 25 titles to her name, including the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon title, a total that would have been higher but for the chronic nerves of this highly sensitive and intelligent player. In Madrid during the spring, Mauresmo was still hoping for more success, having earlier won the indoor title in Paris.
“I still think I have some great things to leave on the court. To win in Paris in February was huge for me. I have other things that I want to do but as long as I feel I could still have these moments I will keep going.”
Those passions dimmed, and yesterday the moment came for the double grand slam champion to retire. “I don’t want to train any more,” Mauresmo said. “When you grow older, it’s more difficult to stay at the top. It’s a bit sad but this is the right decision. I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to experience very strong feelings on the court.
“I had three main goals in my career, becoming world number one, claiming a grand slam title and a Fed Cup. I achieved all of them,” she said.
It was these emotions that were both her strength and weakness. Time and again, and notably at Roland Garros when the pressure was always at its most intense, her inner anxiety prevented her from playing her most free and vivacious tennis.
Yet without those “strong feelings” she would surely never have won the Australian Open and then become Wimbledon champion. Not winning the French Open was her great disappointment. But she had much to compensate her, notably becoming the first French Wimbledon champion of the Open era and becoming the world number one in 2004.
“Amelie is an extraordinary player, one of the nicest and friendliest personalities on tour and a true champion both in tennis and in life,” Stacey Allaster, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, said.
GuardianService
