For the 11th time in 12 years Steffi Graf reached the semi finals of the US Open yesterday. However, her next opponent is new 15 year old Martina Hingis. Steffi v Martina in a grand slam semi final a familiar ring with a fresh face.
Hingis displayed grown ups groundstrokes and nerves of steel worthy of her namesake Martina Navratilova in beating the seventh seeded Czech Jana Novotna 7-6, 6-4.
"I played great match today and it's a great feeling," said Hingis, the third 15 year old to reach the US Open semi finals after Andrea Jaeger in 1980 and Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
Olympic bronze medallist Novotna was impressed by the youngster's versatile game. "When she needed it she came up with a good passing shot or a great topspin lob. She was good from the net, she was good from the back ... She's able to basically do anything on the court."
Hingis also showed the brand of big match courage that Novotna has too often lacked in a history of grand slam collapses.
The busy Swiss prodigy is also through to the semi finals of the women's doubles and mixed doubles with a chance to become the first player since Navratilova in 1987 to win all three.
Austria's Judith Wiesner has never reached a grand slam semi final at all. She exerted as much pressure on Graf as she could possibly muster but could have done with just a little more of her compatriot Thomas Muster's devil. Graf won 7-5, 6-3.
These are immensely difficult times for the women's joint number one. The trial of Peter Graf, Steffi's father, begins today. He has been charged with tax evasion. "I can't think of anyone having a more difficult time than Steffi. l am amazed anybody can shrug off all that stuff," said Wiesner.
Grafs great strength, aside of her playing ability, is that she can apparently leave her personal troubles totally behind her once she is on court. Afterwards the emotions often bubble to the surface, no matter how hard she tries to suppress them, but she continues to love competition. It is undoubtedly a release.
She has not been playing particularly well so far, although nobody has really extended her. Wiesner, who beat the fifth seed Iva Majoli of Croatia in the first round, built up a 4-2 lead in the first set but this concentrated Graf's mind all the more.
Life has seemingly begun at 30 for Wiesner, who reached her first ever Grand Slam quarter final at Wimbledon this year after nine years of trying. "I hope l can go on to the semis before retire," she said.
Graf was clearly at odds with herself for large sections of this match, shaking her head and fretting at an array of unforced errors. But even then she was ultimately too strong for Wiesner, who has now lost all of their 10 meetings.
Second seed Michael Chang the little guy with the big racket, made life difficult for himself before grabbing the first semi final berth in the men's competition with a 7-5 6-3 6-7 6-3 win over surprising Spaniard Javier Sanchez.
"Javier was playing some great tennis. It was definitely a dog fight," said Chang, who practically had to run a marathon the way Sanchez made him race around the court in the two hour and 49 minute baseline battle.
