| | Associated Press
Results
PARIS -- Martina Hingis, who left the 1999 French Open to
jeers and in tears, returned Monday to Roland Garros and beat Sabine
Appelmans 6-0, 6-4 in the opening match on center court.
|  | | Martina Hingis has yet to win a French Open. |
Eager to erase the memory of her emotional meltdown against
Steffi Graf in last year's final, Hingis walked onto the
sun-splashed court to polite applause and a couple of whistles from
the few hundred fans in the stands. She lost only eight points in
the first set, won the match in 52 minutes and walked off the court
smiling this time.
Fans booed when Hingis blew a lead and threw a tantrum in the
final a year ago, and she sobbed in her mother's arms during the
closing ceremony.
"It was an unbelievable emotional thing," said Hingis, 19.
"Since then many things have changed. I'm playing well now. I'll
just try to have a good tournament and see how it goes. If there's
someone better than me, it's not a drama."
Hingis said she has recovered from a foot injury that caused her
to withdraw from the Italian Open earlier this month. She said she
has been warmly received since arriving Tuesday in Paris.
"I've never had so many people recognize me walking on the
street in regular clothes," she said. "It was real nice."
There will be no rematch with Graf, who has retired. Hingis is
top-seeded and bidding for the only Grand Slam title she has yet to
win.
"It is the hardest one," she said. "Physically, you have to
be at the top. You have to be much more patient and in control of
what you're doing. That's not always easy for two weeks straight."
The tournament opened with breezy, chilly weather that had
players grousing and fans lining up to buy souvenir sweaters. Gusts
resulted in some ragged play but few early upsets.
"In the French Open I've never seen wind like this," Monica
Seles said after beating Silvija Talaja 6-2, 6-2. "It's very
difficult conditions."
Seles is seeking her fourth French Open title and her first
since 1992. She has won three tournaments this year and is seeded
third.
Jennifer Capriati, whose ranking rose to the top 15 earlier this
year, lost to Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 7-5 for her fourth consecutive
defeat since late March.
Capriati said a recent split with coach Harold Solomon wasn't a
factor in her slump. Instead she blamed Achilles' tendinitis, which
interfered with her practice and tournament schedule.
"This clay-court season wasn't anything I wanted, that's for
sure," she said. "Hopefully I can bounce back from this quickly
and not get discouraged."
Monday also saw the day's first upset when Meghann Shaughnessy beat No. 12 Julie Halard-Decugis of France 7-5, 6-4. | |
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