Top 10 players of the Decade - Women (Part 1)

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The 2000-09 decade can be easily considered one of the most competitive decade women's tennis has ever witnessed. With no clear domination of a single player, there were twelve different Grand Slam winners from and a series of nail-biting rivalries that regaled the tennis arena with some breath-taking tennis. As we bid goodbye to the past decade, let's take a look at some of the brightest names of the last ten years -

10- Martina Hingis

We kick off our list of the 10 best female tennis players of the decade with the player who rose to stardom not once but twice in the span of 10 years. Martina Hingis had won five majors by the time the nineties came to a close and was seen as one player who could held off the rising challenge of players like Venus Williams, Serena Williams and the Belgians Clijsters and Henin. Although her dreams of winning another slam were shattered by a rejuvenated Jennifer Capriati and the Williamses, who repeatedly got the better of the Swiss star, Hingis' Grand Slam resume in the 2000's turned out to be pretty impressive. She made it to the final of the Australian Open three years in a row (2000-02) and managed semifinal berths at the U.S. Open and French Open to confirm her consistency at such a stage in Sport. However, her biggest triumph was the 2000 WTA Championships, where she regained the top form. Hingis' comeback in 2006-07 was marked by three tour titles and quarterfinal finishes in Melbourne and Roland Garros, which won her the 'Comeback player of the year' awards at the 2006 Laureas World Sports Awards and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour accolades. Her elusive career finally came to a sad end when she was tested positive at a drug test conducted during the 2007 Wimbledon. The Swiss however, maintained her innocence over the entire issue and quietly announced her retirement from professional tennis. The Swiss superstar will always be remembered for the myriad of records she set by winning Grand Slams at such an early age, coupled with her elusive feats and a whopping 43 Sony Ericsson WTA Singles titles she won during her 14 years as a tennis professional. Hingis was included in TENNIS magazine's list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era at the 22nd position.

9- Svetlana Kuznetsova

At No.9 comes a player who is famous for her quiet yet astonishing rise to super stardom amidst a vast crop of Russian starlets who were making their mark on women's tennis by being a part of the so-called Russian-Revolution. Svetlana Kuznetsova first tasted the Grand Slam success at the 2004 U.S. Open where she silenced some of the biggest names to clinch title glory. Her next major triumph was the Sony Ericsson Open title in 2006 where she regained top form after a disappointing 2005. By reaching the 2007 final at Flushing Meadows in the presence of WTA giants like Sharapova, Williams sisters and Mauresmo, Kuznetsova proved that her previous efforts were not a flash in the pan. Kuznetsova also finished Runner-up at the 2006 French Open to Justine Henin, thereby confirming her all-court finesse. The 2009 season brought another Grand Slam triumph for the Russian, who beat compatriot Dinara Safina to claim her second career major title. In a span of 10 years, Kuznetsova won 10 Sony Ericsson WTA....

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http://www.tennisearth.com/news/tennisNews/Top-10-players-of-the-Decade---Women-(Part-1)-813239.htm