One of the most memorable moments in sports occurred in 1989 at the French Open, when Michael Chang—exhausted, cramping, hobbling—had the temerity to hit an underhand serve at a critical juncture in his fourth-round clash with heavily favored and highly seeded Ivan Lendl.
A collective gasp issued from the spectators as well as the legions assembled on sofas and armchairs around the world. This remains the most celebrated—or is it notorious?—application of the most overlooked shot in tennis. But others have done it, usually under comparable duress. Martina Hingis, in the next most memorable example, sliced into play an underhand serve during her match with Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open final.
At the time, Graf was almost 30 and had failed to win a Grand Slam singles title in three years. Hingis, by contrast, was a feisty, combative, self-confident 18-year-old, who had won her first major at just 16. She had swept the singles and doubles titles in Melbourne at the first Grand Slam event of the year. Hingis beat Monica Seles in the semifinals there, after Seles had crushed Graf in the quarters, 7-5, 6-1.
Chang used his underhand serve against Lendl at 3-4, 30-all in the fifth set. Hingis used hers to fend off a match point. While the French crowd cheered Chang’s sneaky effort, they showered Hingis with catcalls and jeers—and continued to boo her through the rest of the third set (Graf ultimately won it, 6-2).
There was more to the hostility of the French crowd than Hingis’ trick serve. Leading the battered veteran Graf by 6-4, 2-0, Hingis impertinently went around to Graf’s side of the court to argue a call with the chair umpire. The French took it as yet another arrogant, in-your-face gesture from the punk-ish teenager who had set the tennis world ablaze.