At 28, many tennis players are either retired or on the verge of doing so. Gabriela Sabatini and Kimiko Date both hung it up last year at the age of 26. On the other hand, Jana Novotna has produced some of her finest tennis at that age, winning six titles in the last year and a half and attaining a career high ranking of number two after reaching the Wimbledon final this year. Her appearance in that final was not unexpected though, as she has produced some of her best tennis there, including an appearance in the 1993 final.

After being stretched to three sets in the first two rounds, Novotna had a routine straight setter over Gala Leon Garcia. This set up a tough fourth round encounter with Mary Joe Fernandez, who had beaten her 8-6 in the third set at the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament in 1996. Fernandez won a tight first set 7-5, and was able to gain an advantage late in the second. It looked as if Novotna's Wimbledon was about to end. However, Novotna hung tough and managed to pull out the set 6-4. The third set was another battle, but she pulled through again, winning 7-5. The QF match against Yayuk Basuki was a surprisingly easy straight set affair, 6-3, 6-3. This set up a semifinal showdown with former doubles partner Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, with whom she'd had an acrimonious split last year.

Just two weeks earlier, the two were set to play in the Eastbourne final. Unfortunately, the rain wreaked havoc and the final had to be canceled late in the first set. During the Wimbledon fortnight, both women had less than kind words to say about one another, which added to the anticipation for this match. After losing several matches in a row to Sanchez Vicario, Novotna had won the last two meetings in straight sets. Sanchez Vicario had been a finalist at Wimbledon the past two years, losing to Graf, as Novotna had done in 1993. It was Novotna who came out firing, attacking the net with aplomb, and she won the first set 6-4 on a volley winner. The second set was rather lopsided, Novotna winning 6-2. She punctuated the match with a crosscourt overhead winner, raising her arms in triumph and pumping her fists afterwards. There was a look of relief on her face, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Finally, she would get a second chance at the Wimbledon title she'd almost won four years earlier. She then trotted over to the umpire's chair and exchanged an icy handshake with Sanchez Vicario.

The final pitted the veteran Novotna against 16-year old world number one Martina Hingis, winner of the Australian Open and finalist at the French Open, who had adapted her game nicely to grass. In the first set, Novotna conducted a grasscourt tennis clinic, winning 6-2 in just 22 minutes by applying unrelenting pressure from the forecourt. She opened the match in spectacular fashion by breaking serve at love and committing zero unforced errors en route to a 4-0 lead. Her play prompted Hingis to later say "I felt like a beginner. I did not play badly. She was just all over the net."

However, Hingis raised her level of play in the second set, striking the ball better from the backcourt and applying some pressure of her own at the net. Her passing shots, especially the backhand down the line, were beginning to click. With Novotna serving at 2-3, Hingis capitalized on her first break point opportunity by hitting a forehand winner down the line. The final game of the set, with Hingis serving at 5-3, was a titanic battle. Novotna fought off four set points, but was unable to convert on three break point opportunities, and Hingis finally finally held to close out the set.

Novotna fended off five break points to open the third set, then broke Hingis to lead 2-0. But Hingis immediately broke back, shifting the momentum back in her favor. Hingis was playing really well, and Novotna looked flat for the first time in the match as Hingis raced to a 5-2 lead. Novotna managed to break to make it 5-3, displaying some fortitude under dire circumstances. In the following game, she fought off one match point on her serve with a nice second serve into the body, but a few points later Hingis won the title by hitting a crosscourt forehand passing shot winner.

Both women seemed to have fun during the trophy presentation. Novotna had a lengthy talk with the Duchess (no crying this time), and later playfully snatched the winner's plate away from Hingis and held it up briefly. Even though she lost, it was nice to see her maintain her composure afterwards. When interviewed by Bud "Wild Pants" Collins, she was obviously disappointed about the result, but gave full credit to Hingis for coming up with the shots she did.

Hingis was also complimentary towards her Novotna. "She deserves to win one of the Grand Slam titles. On this surface, she's really hard and she really deserves to win this title. She was the more aggressive player, and I was the more defensive one. It was like two different tennis games came together in this final. Both of us could win it. I did it this time, but she could be the winner next time."

Well, Novotna is still in search of that elusive Grand Slam singles title. Though she is playing well and is in excellent shape, one has to wonder how many more chances she will get. Perhaps she will follow the example of Andres Gomez, who won his first (and only) Grand Slam title at the age of 30. Certainly better late than never ...