The Watercooler, 10.26

'Morning. This is today's Watercooler thread, for discussing matches being played, other tennis-related items, and maybe a few OT remarks here and there.

Continuing with the Tribe's suggestions for iconic tennis images of the past (keep the ideas coming, if you have thoughts on this), more than one person requested a picture of Jana Novotná being consoled by the Duchess of Kent after her 1993 Wimbledon loss. She famously cried on the Duchess' shoulder after being beaten in the final by Steffi Graf, after leading 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15, and then notoriously becoming nervous and choking, missing a series of easy shots including a should-have-been overhead putaway smash. Novotná had beaten Gabriela Sabatini and Martina Navratilova to reach the final, and was well-positioned to win it, but Graf reeled off the next five games to take the title.

Novotná lost to Martina Hingis in the 1997 final, in three sets, but her moment of glory eventually arrived in 1998, when she beat Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, Martina Hingis in the semis and then Nathalie Tauziat in the final, 6-4, 7-6.

Novotná was once a finalist at the Australian Open (1991), and reached semifinals at Roland Garros and the US Open, but her Wimbledon title remains her sole Grand Slam win.

Enjoy today's tennis!

-- Rosangel