SECOND time around there were no tears from Jana Novotna, just dignified resignation.

Four years ago she had wept at the loss of a Wimbledon final she should have won. This time she gave it her best shot and, against a 16-year-old who outsmarted as well as outplayed her, it simply wasn't good enough. Sometimes in life, as the world number two seems to discover again and again, second best simply has to be good enough.

As she had in her clash with Steffi Graf, the Czech number one led this final, taking the first set, and breaking early in the third to lead by two games to love. But Martina Hingis confirmed her status as the best player in the world by steadily adapting her game to counter her opponent's strengths and taking control, for the most part, from the back of the court.

Afterwards Novotna revealed that her downfall had been hastened by the re-occurrence, from the start of the second set onwards, of an abdominal muscle strain that had previously forced her to pull out of the doubles.

Even if she had remained untroubled by the stomach problem, however, it is difficult to imagine that the sort of start made by the 28-year-old could have been sustained.

Following her own service to the net on virtually every point, and making it in more often than not while receiving, Novotna made a breathtaking commitment to an attacking game. She was rewarded with a quick first set that she seemed to win while the world number one was still trying to come to grips with what was being thrown at her.

"I was pretty much in shock in that set because she returned so well and she was straight into the net after everything," marvelled Hingis afterwards, adding that "I just felt like a beginner during it."

The Swiss international did not help her cause much through those early stages by producing a series of poorly judged lobs and passing shots. But then the pressure she was under was undoubtedly immense as Novotna pounced ruthlessly on anything short of perfect and unleashed a wonderful array of forehand and backhand volleys as well as some marvellously deft drop shots.

Having taken the opening set 6-2 after just 22 minutes on court, Novotna remained solid through the early stages of the second but when the top seed produced two stinging backhand passes in a row to hold-in the fifth game it seemed a signal that the 16-year-old was finally beginning to settle into her stride.

Up until that point, Hingis's general persistence with remaining on the baseline had appeared to be approaching suicidal But while coming forward a little more over the latter set and a half she now began to turn Novotna's attacking instincts against her without substantially altering her approach.

Instead lobs, passing strokes to both sides of the court and powerful drives which the older woman no longer possessed the energy to get back with any precision all combined to perceptively turn the tide through the middle of the set.

"I think at that stage she started to step in and take advantage of my second serve," explained Novotna. "She started to look more and more comfortable and to get the feeling that she could wear me down.

That feeling must have received a considerable boost in the next game when, after trailing 40-30, Hingis seized the opportunity presented by a weaker crosscourt forehand volley from the net, scampering across to squeeze a passing shot down the line and score her first service break of the contest. The rest of the set went with service, Hingis eventually taking it after four squandered set points to three games.

At the start of the third her opponent gambled on turning the course of the match again but, despite taking the opening two games, the momentum was by this stage strongly propelling the youngster towards victory.

Hingis, now superior in every department against a clearly tiring Novotna, won five games on the trot and after being broken in the eighth, completed a convincing 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in 110 minutes to become the youngest Wimbledon singles champion this century.

"It is," she said when she came off court, "like a dream come through. Maybe I'm still too young to win this title because I still can't believe it. Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up and realise that I have really done it."

Whether, over the coming years, she manages to equal or even better the nine titles won here by the woman she is named after remains, of course, to be seen. But on the strength of her season to date and, in particular, this performance, it seems certain that there will be many players forced to settle for Jana Novotna's fate on Saturday