“Such a cruel moment” was how Steffi Graf described Martina Hingis’s tears during the 1999 French Open championship.

“Such a cruel moment” was how Steffi Graf described Martina Hingis’s tears during the 1999 French Open championship.

In an exciting final match at the 1999 French Open, Steffi Graf defeated Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Graf won her last Grand Slam singles championship before retiring later that year.

In a 2009 documentary, Andre Agassi and Graf discussed the 1999 French Open, with the German talking about her epic matchup with Hingis in Paris. The German claimed that she was excited to be on the court for the championship rather than anxious. Graf stated, “The first photo basically shows me standing there, staring out at the crowd with a big smile on my face, genuinely thrilled. “Normally, during a match, one is tense, anxious, and experiencing a range of emotions; however, I was simply content to be on the court.” It seemed strange because, well, you should be nervous since you’re in the final.”

Hingis served for the title at 5-4 after winning the opening set in the championship match. But Graf broke her, and the Swiss gradually began to mentally falter in the match. Much to the chagrin of the spectators and her opponent alike, she employed a good deal of underarm serves.Graf claimed that even though Hingis done something insane, she knew why.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion responded, “I can understand it from her point of view. I mean, she didn’t know at this point what to do and she just did something crazy.” Hingis was pushed around by the French Open spectators throughout the final set of the match, and the animosity eventually got to the Swiss, who broke down in tears after the play. Graf expressed sympathy for Hingis, saying that she was going through a difficult time.