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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Tuesday, January 23 |
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| Hingis breezes through in singles and doubles Reuters | |||
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No. 1 Martina
Hingis raced into the third round of the Australian Open on
Thursday then kept a date with partner Monica Seles to beat the
defending doubles champions at the season-opening Grand Slam.
Hingis, the top seed and three-time Australian Open
champion, needed just 40 minutes to breeze past Belgium's Els
Callens 6-1 6-0 in their women's singles second round match.
But far from being able to take it easy afterward, the
Swiss star found herself heading out for an opening round
doubles match with Seles in double-quick time.
The new combination, which came together at the Sydney
international last week after Hingis split with regular partner
Anna Kournikova, beat top seeds Lisa Raymond of the United
States and Australia's Rennae Stubbs 7-6, 6-3.
Hingis admitted feeling rushed as she headed out to court
one with Seles after her center court singles romp.
"They were like 'okay, the court's been empty for half an
hour, they're waiting for you,'" Hingis told reporters. "I was
like okay, okay. Definitely I did not take enough time (between
matches), that's why I didn't play so well in the beginning."
Still, Hingis and Seles are enjoying their new partnership.
"It's new energy," Hingis said. "Someone who's so
professional like Monica, it is always a thrill to go out there
with because you know she's a fighter, she never gives up."
Hingis said they were still getting used to each other's
style.
"We definitely proved that we can play. But we haven't had
that much time to practise yet and just work on the doubles
game," she said.
"We both played a little bit of our singles out there. We
didn't play our best today, that's for sure."
Against Callens, Hingis started in top gear and hardly eased
back on the throttle as she continued her strong start to the
year after taking the singles title in Sydney.
Although she won a tour-high nine titles last year, the
Swiss top seed arrived at the Australian Open without a Grand
Slam singles title success since her third win here in 1999.
But victories against Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport
in Sydney have helped boost her hopes of ending the drought.
"It's a motivation, it shows that so many girls are playing
so well right now," said Hingis, runner-up to Davenport at last
year's Australian Open.
Against Callens, Hingis showed she was getting more used to
coming to the net, a point her Belgian opponent said would help
the top seed against her rivals' power play in the tournament.
"That's part of my game I was working on," Hingis said. "I
definitely feel much more comfortable going up front and playing
some volleys."
Hingis next faces France's Virginie Razzano, who beat Anne
Kremer of Luxembourg. | |
ALSO SEE Serving it up: Clijsters on tennis, romance with Hewitt Serena Williams faces tough path Kournikova strolls into third round | |
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