Dominance
The French championships were not held again until 1920, but Wimbledon was, again, organised for 1919. Lenglen entered the tournament — her first on grass — and met seven time winner Dorothea Douglass Chambers in the final. The match, which became one of the hallmarks of tennis history, was played before 8,000 spectators, including King George V and Queen Mary. After splitting the first two sets, Lenglen took a 4–1 lead in the final set before Chambers rallied to take a 6–5 (40–15) lead. Lenglen saved the first match point when her service return trickled off the wood of her racket and dropped over the net. Lenglen survived the second match point when Chambers hit a drop shot into the net. Lenglen then went on to win the match 10–8, 4–6, 9–7.
Not only her performances on the court were noted, however. She garnered much attention in the media when she appeared at Wimbledon with her dress revealing bare forearms and cut just above the calf, while all other players competed in outfits covering nearly all of the body. The staider British also were in shock at the boldness of the French woman who also casually sipped brandy between sets.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp (Belgium), Lenglen dominated the women's singles. On her path to the gold medal, she gave up only four games, three of them in the final against Dorothy Holman of Britain. She then teamed up with Max Décugis to win another gold medal in the mixed doubles. She was eliminated in a women's doubles semifinal (playing with Élisabeth d'Ayen) and won the bronze medal after their opponents withdrew.
From 1919 through 1925, Lenglen won the Wimbledon singles championship every year with the exception of 1924. Health problems due to jaundice forced her to withdraw after winning her quarterfinal match. Lenglen was the last French woman to win the Wimbledon ladies singles title until Amélie Mauresmo in 2006.
From 1920 through 1926, she won the French Championships Singles title six times and the Doubles title five times, plus three World Hard Court Championships from 1921 to 1923. She starred in an instructional film Tennis and How to Play It that was shown in newsreels in 1922.
Read more about this topic: Suzanne Lenglen
Famous quotes containing the word dominance:
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