Martina arrived in New York at 2am on Monday on a flight from London, where she had played in the Wimbledon Ladies Invitation Doubles. On Monday evening, the Buzz were defeated by Philadelphia at Albany, 21-20. After 4 days of play, the New York Buzz are now 0-3 in the WTT Eastern Conference standings. WTT schedule (Jul 3, 2010) On Saturday in London, England, in the Ladies' Invitation Doubles of The Championships at Wimbledon, Tracy Austin and Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel defeated Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova 7-5, 7-6(4). The loss knocked Martina and Anna out of the competition; Group A champs Tracy and Kathy will play Group B champs Martina Navratilva and Jana Novotna for the invitation doubles title on Sunday. invitation doubles drawsheet (Jul 1, 2010) On Thursday in London, England, in the Ladies' Invitation Doubles of The Championships at Wimbledon, Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova defeated Helena Sukova and Andrea Temesvari 6-1, 6-4. Martina and Anna will play Tracy Austin and Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel on Saturday. (Jun 29, 2010) On Tuesday in London, England, in the 1st round of the Ladies' Invitation Doubles of The Championships at Wimbledon, Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova defeated Ann Hobbs and Samantha Smith 6-2, 6-4. They will play their next match on Thursday. When asked if she and Martina could return as a main draw doubles team on the WTA Tour, Anna said: "No, not me. [Martina] could be [competitive]. Me, there's no way... "For me it would be impossible really physically to be on the tour. It even bothers me a little bit playing like today. I mean, it wasn't strenuous match. It was quite fun and giggly. I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow and I'll be sore. Even to prepare for the specific tournament, the last two months, I've had to have therapy, like real therapy, every day for an hour, hour and a half. "This is just for kind of the fun matches. I would have to live in the trainer's room for three hours every day. I have five different things wrong with my back from two herniated discs to four cracks that I have. The right side is smaller than the left side." About the idea returning to WTA play in general, Martina said: "I did it. I had my comeback. I was very happy with it. I lived through all the emotions. I missed it when I was away for three years. That's why I did the comeback. "Now it's different. I'm going to be 30 years old. Like I said before, it's a commitment you have to do. You travel 35, 40 weeks a year. I think I've played enough tennis in my life. Tennis gave me everything I have today. I'm grateful every moment." postmatch interview (May 6, 2010) Former WTA doubles #1 Martina Hingis will play in the Ladies Invitation "Legends" doubles at Wimbledon this year, partnered with her friend Anna Kournikova. Martina won 37 doubles titles during her WTA career, 6 of those teamed with Anna, including the 1999 and 2002 Australian Open titles. Martina's 37 doubles titles also include the 2000 French Open (with Mary Pierce), the 1998 Australian Open (with Mirjana Lucic), French Open and US Open (with Jana Novotna), the 1997 Australian Open (with Natasha Zvereva), and the 1996 Wimbledon title (with Helena Sukova). (Mar 11, 2010) Former WTA #1 Martina Hingis will face current #1 Serena Williams in World Team Tennis play this Summer. Martina, who was selected by the New York Buzz in the February 11 "marquee" player draft, will play Serena on July 9 at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Martina will also play two other former #1s, Venus Williams of the Washington Kastles in D.C. on July 7, and Kim Clijsters of the New York Sportimes in Manhattan on July 19. Martina has committed to play 14 WTT matches this year. AP story - WTT schedule (Feb 3, 2010) Former WTA #1 Martina Hingis will play a full schedule of World Team Tennis events next summer. Martina has committed to play 14 WTT matches this year; she will play for whatever team chooses her in the February 11 "marquee" player draft. In an AP phone interview, Martina also ruled out a return to WTA play "at this time," primarily due to the extensive travel required. AP story (Jan 17, 2010) 29-year-old former WTA #1 Martina Hingis might return to WTA play. Martina defeated former #1 Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 6-4 in an exhibition match in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday. After the exhibition, reporters asked Martina if she might return to the WTA Tour. Martina said: I can not imagine a life without tennis. It's still so much fun for me. I'd like to play more exhibition games and see what happens. Past that, I just don't know at the moment." Asked if she, too, might return to WTA play, 33-year-old Lindsay said: "If I play again it will only be to selected events and only then for fun." Martina has won 43 WTA singles titles, including 5 Grand Slam titles, and 37 WTA doubles titles, and has a 548-133 record in WTA singles matches. Martina was banned from WTA & ITF tennis for 2 years in 2007 after failing a test for prohibited substances (which she vehemently denied doing), and announced her retirement after deciding not to appeal the ban. AFP story
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Hingis Desktop Wallpaper 20 great photos
Link to: http://hingis.quickfound.net
141 Hingis Interviews - Hingis News Archive Singles Record w/pics: 2007 - 2006 - 2002 - 2001 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 Doubles: 2006 - 2002  Jan 11, 2002: Martina Hingis after defeating Kim Clijsters in Sydney.
"I liked Martina Hingis. I loved watching her play. She can play everywhere on the court. She was a great baseliner and good at the net. That's something that I need to improve." Gisela Dulko, March 2004 Martina Hingis Statistics (11/2007): nationality: Swiss residences: Hurden, Switzerland (Lake Zurich) Wesley Chapel, Florida birthdate: September 30, 1980 birthplace: Kosice, Slovakia father: Karol Hingis mother (and coach): Melanie Molitor height: 5' 7" (1.70 m) weight: 130 lbs. (59 kg) plays: right-handed, two-handed backhand turned pro: October 14, 1994 career prize $: $20,130,657 highest singles rank: 1st WTA singles titles: 43 43-25 record in finals career singles match record: 548-133 highest doubles rank: 1st WTA doubles titles: 37 career doubles match record: 286-54 agent: Octagon racquet: Yonex NanoSpeed RQS 11 apparel: adidas Competition shoes: adidas Barricade Martina Hingis Photos: Google Image Search (8,010 photos) picsearch Photo Search (2,855 photos) Lycos Photo Search (1200 photos) Alta Vista Photo Search (545 photos) SkySports Hingis Photos Hingis.org: 4159 Photos  Hingis Offcourt Photos WTA Hingis Career Records ITF Hingis Career Records ITF Hingis Junior Records WTA Hingis Profile Sporting Life Hingis Factfile "WTA Since 1996" Hingis Records  @mhingis Twitter TweetsTweets by @mhingisMartina Hingis Links Martina Hingis Forums Martina Hingis Fan Community Martina Hingis (Russian) Blick: Sport (translation) HingisNews.net Magazine Hingis Martina Hingis Win Win Win For Martina Martina Hingis Online Martina Hingis Fan (French) azter.com Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (Australian) Legend in the Making Swiss Tennis Girl (German/English) Bomis Hingis Web Ring Google Usenet Newsgroups: rec.sport.tennis - alt.tennis  1/25/2002: Australian Open Doubles Champions defeating D. Hantuchova & A. Sanchez-Vicario Martina Hingis Match Statistics: All 2002 Aus. Open singles on 1 page All 2001 US Open singles on 1 page |
(Jan 5, 2008) Asked to comment on the ITF's 2-year suspension of Martina Hingis (see below), 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open champ Maria Sharapova said: "Martina has always been super nice to me. It is definitely sad to see, as to this day I think she is an incredible champion, and in front of my eyes she has always been an incredibly hard worker, from spending extra hours on the court to extra time in the gym. She has been one of the toughest examples... especially when I was growing up, to see the work ethic she put in, to what she did, was incredible." PA Sport story
(Jan 4, 2008 revised Jan 24) The International Tennis Federation announced on January 4 that an independent anti-doping tribunal, after a two-day hearing in December 2007, had found that Martina Hingis has committed a "Doping Offence." The tribunal found that Martina had tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine included in WADA’s 2007 List of Prohibited Substances, and rejected the suggestion that there were doubts about the identity and/or integrity of the sample attributed to Martina.
As a result, the ITF suspended Martina (who is now retired) for two years (from Oct 1, 2007), disqualified her results from the 2007 Championships at Wimbledon and subsequent events, and forfeited the ranking points and required repayment of the prize money from those events ($129,481).
ITF press release - tribunal decision, .pdf
Martina was given three weeks to appeal the tribunal's decision, as she had already indicated she would do. However, on January 14, WTA CEO Larry Scott said that Martina had told him she had decided not to appeal.
Larry Scott said: "I spoke last week with her and she said that she will not appeal to the CAS... Martina said to me that the situation is frustrating, and that the process is long and costs much money... I believe Martina is still trying to assess exactly what happened to her." DPA story
(Nov 22, 2007) On Wednesday in London, after receiving a Sony Ericsson Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sportswomen of the Year Awards, 63-year-old Billie Jean King, who won 39 Grand Slam tourney singles & doubles titles in her career, commented on accusations that Martina Hingis had failed a test for prohibited substances earlier this year.
Billie Jean said: "It just doesn't make sense... it's just not her... I do believe Martina Hingis. If she says she hasn't taken it, I believe it... It's just not in Hingis's character. I'd stand by her.
"Characters are revealing, and I think it's great she came out first and took it head on. That's a pretty good sign too as a lot of players always wait [for an official announcement] and she thought to heck with it. That was smart." Reuters story
(Nov 11, 2007) Speaking on Sunday in Shanghai about his compatriot Martina Hingis being accused of failing a test for prohibited substances earlier this year, ATP # 1 Roger Federer said: "I can't ever imagine in any way that [Martina] took drugs. I hope that she can prove her innocence. I support her."
(Nov 9, 2007) Martina Hingis is in Madrid attending the WTA Championships. Asked about her pending challenge of the doping test that appeared to indicate she had used a prohibited substance, Martina said: "I'm sorry I cannot comment on the case for legal reasons. I'm just here to watch tennis tonight."
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However, it is likely that Martina is having informal chats about her situation with WTA CEO Larry Scott and WTA President Stacy Allaster, both of whom are in Madrid. (Nov 7, 2007) Martina Hingis will be challenging the test results that indicated she had used a prohibited substance. Martina's business manager Mario Widmer said: "She will be fighting this, of course. You can be clear about that. The matter is currently with her lawyers." Martina's challenge will be based on a hair test, which showed she was clear of any prohibited substances, and on indications unearthed by her attorneys that it may not have been her urine sample that was tested to begin with. Fans at the WTA Championships in Madrid on Wednesday, Nov 7 unfurled a banner reading: "Martina Innocent, # 1 Always, We Love You, We Believe You" |
 Martina on Thursday |
(Nov 1, 2007) Former WTA # 1 Martina Hingis has announced her retirement from professional tennis. Unfortunately, her retirement has been prompted by a ridiculous suggestion that she has been using prohibited substances. In Zurich on Thursday, Martina said: "Throughout my career, I have always been open and honest with you. I have been accused by an outsource testing company of taking cocaine during the Championships at Wimbledon. I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous, that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press. "My weapon on the tennis court is and always was one single thing: the game, the ingenuity on court. And for this style of tennis, there is only one performance enhancer: the love of the game. "They say that cocaine increases self-confidence and creates a type of euphoria. I don't know. I only know that if I were to try to hit the ball while in any state of euphoria, it simply wouldn't work. "I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the coordination required to play top-class tennis while under the influence of drugs. |
"And I know one other thing: I would personally be terrified of taking drugs.
"When I was informed that the A Test I took following my defeat at Wimbledon apparently came back positive for a cocaine metabolite, I was shocked and appalled.
"Acting upon the advice of my family and my management, I immediately took the hair test which can prove whether or not someone has taken cocaine.
"This test of course produced a negative result, the same negative result as all the countless doping tests that I have taken over the last 12 years.
"However, the B Test from Wimbledon once again produced the opposite result - positive for a metabolite that apparently stays in the system for some time following cocaine use.
"I immediately retained an attorney. Anybody who even attempts to take on this doping machinery alone has no chance.
"The attorney and his experts discovered various inconsistencies with the urine sample that was taken during Wimbledon. He is also convinced that the doping officials mishandled the process and would not be able to prove that the urine that was tested for cocaine actually came from me.
"However, this attorney and others have also pointed out to me that a case like this one can sometimes take years to resolve, especially if both sides repeatedly appeal the case and take it to the next level.
"And this is the reason for my announcement. I have no desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to fighting against the doping officials.
"I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely, one hundred percent innocent. The fact is that it is more and more difficult for me, physically, to keep playing at the top of the game.
"And frankly, accusations such as these don't exactly provide me with motivation to even make another attempt to do so. I attempted a comeback after a three-year break and succeeded in winning three tournaments, bringing my ranking to 6 in the world.
"But in the meantime, I'm now 27 years old, and realistically too old to play top class tennis. So now I'm standing before you, confronting the situation.
"Today I also informed my sponsors. And so, considering this situation, my age, and the problems I have been having with my hip, I have decided to no longer play tennis on the tour.
"Upon advice from my attorneys, I'm afraid I am unable to answer any questions. My answers could insult someone and create even more problems for me.
"Therefore, there is only one more thing for me to do: to thank all of you for many years of goodwill, and also to assure you: I have never taken drugs."
Martina's business manager Mario Widmer said: "She has great angst over this. She is heartbroken. ... It's crazy." AP story
Widmer also said that the test was on June 29, but Martina was not told about the positive result in mid-September, and the positive 'B' sample two or three weeks later.
WTA CEO Larry Scott said: "The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has not received any official information regarding the positive doping test result referred to by Martina Hingis in her press conference today, and as a result we are not in a position to comment on the matter. However, it is important to remember that in the area of anti-doping, all players are presumed innocent until proven otherwise...
"Martina will always be respected for not only having achieved the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world No.1 ranking, her five Grand Slam singles titles, nine Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and two Sony Ericsson Championships titles, but just as much for her incredible touch, on-court intelligence and off-court professionalism."
Tennis commentator and former WTA pro Mary Carillo said: "The very worst part of all this is that one of the very few truly interesting, intelligent match players of the new millennium is retiring. No one plays like Hingis – no one else could."
(Oct 11, 2007) Former WTA # 1 Martina Hingis has withdrawn from next week's Zurich Open. Martina incurred a left hip injury last March during the Key Biscayne tourney, and that and related injuries have plagued her ever since. Zurich, Martina's home tourney, was her last scheduled appearance of the season, thus she is done for the year.
Martina said: "I’m very disappointed that I have to withdraw from the Zurich Open, and that I can’t play in front of my home crowd. I love the city and the tournament, both of which bring back so many good memories.
"I’ve done everything I can to be able to compete, but since Key Biscayne I’ve had problems with my hip, and they’re still stopping me from playing any more tournaments this year, and even from practicing properly.
 Martina visiting the Great Wall on Thursday, Sep 20 |
"I’ve therefore decided that I’m going to take as much time as it needs to get fully fit again." tourney story tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: Zurich (Sep 30, 2007 revised) Martina Hingis is 27 today. Happy birthday, Martina! Unfortunately, Martina has withdrawn at the last minute from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, in Stuttgart, Germany, which begins October 1. Martina's left hip injury, which she first incurred in March at the Miami tourney, is still troubling her. Martina has previously said that the injury is a stress reaction, involving inflammation of the femur (thigh bone) in the hip area. Martina would no doubt like to recover in time to play in her "home" tourney, the Zurich Open, which begins October 15. tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: Stuttgart |
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(Sep 19, 2007) On Wednesday in Beijing, in the 2nd round of the China Open, 21-year-old # 49 Shuai Peng from Tian Jin, China, defeated 5th-seeded # 18 Martina Hingis, 7-5, 6-1. Martina said: "The first set was very close and of high quality. In the second set, [Shuai] played with more intensity. She was better... We played once before and I felt [it was] hard to beat her. She is in her home country and the support made her play better... "I tried to put pressure on her. She did great and made less unforced errors." postmatch interview tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: - Beijing Martina will now have time to do some sightseeing in Berlin, then head back to Europe. Her next tourney is the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, in Stuttgart, Germany, which begins October 1. Martina is a 4-time Porsche Grand Prix champion. |
 Martina on Wednesday
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(Sep 18, 2007) On Tuesday in Beijing, in the 1st round of the China Open, 5th-seeded # 18 Martina Hingis handily defeated locally-resident 25-year-old wild card # 139 Tiantian Sun of China, 6-2, 6-3. Tiantian broke Martina's serve in the first game of the match. Martina said: "She started very well and hit some good return points. I was not ready in the first game but later when I broke [Tiantian's serve], my confidence came back. In my next match, I definitely will get ready from the first point, not from the first game." postmatch interview In the 2nd round on Wednesday evening at 7pm, Martina will play another Chinese opponent, 21-year-old # 49 Shuai Peng from Tian Jin, China. Martina and Shuai have met only once before, in the 1st round of last year's US Open, when Martina won, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Shuai is the only Chinese player to reach the 2nd round in singles, and, of course, the night session crowd will be heavily on her side. |
 Martina swinging with Yonex on Tuesday |
 The new axe closeup |
Martina, who had swung a Yonex bat througout her career, began using an all-black bat earlier this summer and stopped carrying a Yonex bag. When asked about her equipment at the US Open, Martina said: "I'm not talking about this subject right now. Yup, it's a black frame. Testing racquet." Today, Martina was swinging another new axe, but this time with the familiar Yonex design and logo. Her new bat looks very similar to her previous Yonex NanoSpeed RQS 11 (but with maroon instead of blue accents), and is possibly an updated version of that model. (Sep 16, 2007 revised) Martina Hingis is in Beijing, China, this week for the Tier II China Open. Martina, currently ranked 18th, is seeded 5th in the tourney. In the 1st round, on Tuesday (postponed from Monday due to rain), Martina will play wild card # 139 Tiantian Sun of China. They have met once before, in the 2nd round last year in Miami, when Martina won, 6-3, 6-2. Tiantian is not to be taken lightly, however, particularly on her home turf: two years ago, in the 2nd round in Beijing, she defeated then # 4 Serena Williams, 6-2, 7-6(7). |
(Sep 2, 2007) On Sunday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 3rd round of doubles at the 2007 US Open, 6th-seeded Kveta Peschke & Rennae Stubbs narrowly defeated Martina Hingis & Daniela Hantuchova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Neither Martina nor Daniela were entered in the mixed doubles, so they are finished at Flushing Meadows for this year. Martina's next scheduled action is at the China Open in Beijing, beginning Sep 17.
tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: 2007 US Open
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(Sep 1, 2007) On Saturday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 3rd round of the 2007 US Open, 18-year-old # 38 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Scottsdale, Arizona) defeated Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. Both players put 68% of their 1st serves in the box. But Martina won only 46% of her 1st serve points, while Victoria won 68% of hers. And Martina converted only 3 of 11 break point opportunities (Victoria: 7 of 19). match stats Martina is still active in the doubles draw; in the 3rd round, she and her partner Daniela Hantuchova will play 6th-seeded Kveta Peschke & Rennae Stubbs. They will play on Sunday, the 3rd match of the day, on the Grandstand Court. (Aug 31, 2007) On Friday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 2nd round of doubles at the 2007 US Open, Martina Hingis & Daniela Hantuchova defeated the Chinese duo of Zi Yan & Shuai Peng, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. In the 3rd round on Sunday Martina and Daniela will play 6th-seeded Kveta Peschke & Rennae Stubbs. |
 Martina on Saturday
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 After match point on Thursday |
(Aug 30, 2007) On Thursday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 2nd round of the 2007 US Open, Martina Hingis defeated 21-year-old # 107 Pauline Parmentier of France, 6-2, 7-5. Martina won 68% of her 1st serve points in the 1st set, but only 52% of her 1st serve points in the 2nd set, during which Pauline broke Martina's serve 3 times--while Martina broke Pauline's serve 4 times. match stats Martina said: "My baseline game's always been out there. It's whether I can put it all together. I served today not probably the best. "It came out when I needed it, especially at the end, you know, being down 5-4, Love-30. That doesn't feel that great. "But then I served really well the next game, and still the last game was much better. Sometimes that's when you have to come out and focus." postmatch interview - interview video In the 3rd round on Saturday, Martina will play 18-year-old # 38 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (residence: Scottsdale, Arizona). They have never before met on the field of combat. tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: 2007 US Open |
(Aug 29, 2007) On Wednesday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 1st round of doubles at the 2007 US Open, Martina Hingis and her partner Daniela Hantuchova handily defeated Sybille Bammer and Tamira Paszek, 6-3, 6-2.
In the 2nd round, probably on Friday, Martina and Daniela will face the very tough 10th seeded team of Zi Yan and Shuai Peng, both from China. Although Shuai has not yet won a WTA doubles title, Zi has won 10, including the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles (partnered with the currently-injured Jie Zheng).
Daniela has won 8 WTA doubles titles, and reached two Grand Slam finals, including the 2002 Australian Open, where Daniela and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost to Martina and Anna Kournikova. Martina has won 37 WTA doubles titles (11 of them with Anna), but has not played doubles very much recently.
Daniela, who also has won a "career slam" (all 4 majors) at mixed doubles, has already been knocked out of the singles draw (as have Zi and Shuai), so she should be well focused on the task at hand.
Neither Martina nor Daniela are playing mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows this year.
 Martina on Monday |
(Aug 28, 2007) On Tuesday at Flushing Meadows, New York, in the 1st round of the 2007 US Open, 16th-seeded # 17 Martina Hingis handily defeated 22-year-old # 114 Mathilde Johansson of France, 6-0, 6-3. Despite playing just eight singles matches in four tournaments since since March (due to hip and back injuries), Martina hit 23 winners with only 8 unforced errors, scored on 14 of 18 trips to the net, and converted all 4 of her break point opportunities. match stats Martina said: "Sometimes when you have a rough couple of months, coming back from an injury, all that, it's like L.A. and San Diego, the tournaments were a little bit rusty, rocky. I just took some time off, get my body and myself back together. Today I'm very pleased. I hope I can continue this way... |
The way I moved today, I think it looked quite all right, the way I played. You're always a little bit nervous about something happening. When you're injured, you don't want to get it back or something, so you try to strengthen things. I'm happy that I have good people around me right now and they help me to stay healthy. It's good." postmatch interview - interview video
Describing the injury that has troubled her this year, Martina said: "My hip, back, femur bone was inflamed. Like stress reaction... It began like after Miami. I felt it a bit in the doubles of Miami, but I continued to play. That's when I pulled out of Charleston...
"Usually my body recovers pretty quickly. The more I do it kind of helps it. This time it was just like getting worse. My hip was uneven, I guess... Out of alignment. I mean, the more you did, you kind of made it worse because then you start compensating. I saw a few doctors in Munich. That helped. I started recovering, yup."
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Since the Acura Classic in San Diego, Martina has been swinging an all-black racquet with no labels whatsoever, not even on the base of the grip. Martina also no longer carries a Yonex racquet bag. This would appear to indicate that Martina is negotiating with a racquet company other than Yonex, and they have not yet come to terms. The new bat is a narrow-beam model and does not appear to resemble recent models from Prince or Head; possibly it is a Wilson. When a reporter asked her about the new bat, Martina said: "I'm not talking about this subject right now. Yup, it's a black frame. Testing racquet." Martina will play another Frenchwoman, 21-year-old # 107 Pauline Parmentier, in the 2nd round on Thursday. They have never before met on the field of combat. If Martina wins, she will have a tougher match against either # 38 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or # 64 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia on Saturday. Martina is also entered in the doubles at this year's US Open, with a very good partner, Daniela Hantuchova (who unfortunately lost her 1st round singles match on Tuesday). The will play two tough Austrians, Sybille Bammer and Tamira Paszek, in the 1st round on Wednesday, the 3rd match of the day on Court 7. |
 Martina's new bat closeup on Aug 30
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(Aug 22, 2007 revised) Martina Hingis, now ranked 17th after being unable to defend her finalist's points at last week's Rogers Cup due to hip and back pain, is seeded 16th for next week's US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York.
Placed in the bottom half of the draw, and Martina will play # 114 Mathilde Johansson of France in the 1st round on Tuesday. If Martina wins, she will face either qualifier # 107 Pauline Parmentier of France or # 112 Tatjana Malek of Germany in the 2nd round on Thursday.
If Martina continues to win, she will probably play # 25 Tathiana Garbin of Italy or # 38 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the 3rd round, and then would run into very tough opposition from # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 4th round. The most likely quarterfinal opponents for Martina (or Svetlana) are # 8 Nadia Petrova or # 10 Daniela Hantuchova.
In the semis, Martina, or one of the other aforementioned ladies, will run into defending champion # 2 Maria Sharapova--if Maria is not ousted earlier by # 6 Anna Chakvetadze, # 12 Patty Schnyder, # 14 Nicole Vaidisova, or another opponent.
(Aug 11, 2007 revised) Martina Hingis has withdrawn from next week's Rogers Cup (Canadian Open) in Toronto, due to hip and back pain. It may be that Martina has not yet fully recovered from the hip injury she incurred in March, and wants to heal more before the US Open (Aug 27), which is her next scheduled tournament.
In a completely unrelated story, Martina has reportedly broken up with ATP player Radek Stepanek, whose engagement to Martina was announced last January without a date ever being set. Reuters reports that an ATP spokesman said: "Radek asked me to pass on a message announcing that he and Martina Hingis have split up, they will remain good friends."
(Aug 10, 2007) Martina Hingis's week in LA ended on Thursday when her doubles partner, Daniela Hantuchova, was forced to withdraw from their scheduled 2nd round match against Tatiana Poutchek & Anastassia Rodionova due to an upper respiratory infection.
Martina will proceed to Toronto, Canada, for next week's Rogers Cup (Canadian Open). Martina reached the Rogers Cup final in Montreal last year before losing to then # 19, and now # 5, Ana Ivanovic. Martina will be hoping to do well to avoid losing the ranking points she earned in Canada last year, and to get some wins leading into the US Open, which begins August 27.
(Aug 9, 2007) On Wednesday afternoon near Los Angeles, California, in the 1st round of doubles at the East West Bank Classic, unseeded Martina Hingis and Daniela Hantuchova defeated Zi Yan and Shuai Peng, 6-3, 6-3.
In the 2nd round on Thursday, the 5th match of the day on Stadium Court, Martina & Daniela will play Tatiana Poutchek & Anastassia Rodionova.
 Martina on Tuesday |
(Aug 8, 2007) On Tuesday evening near Los Angeles, California, in the 2nd round of the East West Bank Classic, # 31 Sania Mirza from Hyderabad, India, defeated 7th-seeded Martina Hingis, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Sania, who is having the best summer of her career, is now tied with Martina at 2-2 in career matches. Sania said: "You're playing Hingis, you can't expect to roll through the third set. I believed when I stepped on the court tonight that I could win... Today I feel like a more complete player. My forehand, my backhand and even my serve is better. These are the things I've been working on the past few years." WTA story Martina is not finished in California; she is in the doubles draw with a very good partner, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Martina and Daniela will play a tough team, Zi Yan and Shuai Peng, in the 1st round of doubles late Wednesday afternoon, the 5th match of the day on Stadium Court. tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: Los Angeles |
 Martina on Thursday |
(Aug 7, 2007) Martina Hingis is in Carson, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, this week for the East West Bank Classic (formerly the JPMorgan Chase Open). Martina, seeded 7th, has a 1st round bye, and will play # 31 Sania Mirza from Hyderabad, India, in the 2nd round at 7pm on Tuesday. It will likely be a tough match. Martina leads Sania 2-1 in career matches, but Sania won their last meeting, on a hardcourt in Seoul last fall, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4, and Sania has been playing the best tennis of her career in the past few weeks, defeating several top-20 players. (Aug 2, 2007) On Thursday at the Carlsbad, California La Costa Resort & Spa, 11th-seeded # 17 Patty Schnyder from Baech, Switzerland defeated her compatriot, 7th seeded # 13 Martina Hingis, 6-1, 6(4)-7, 6-3. match recap Patty said: "This is probably the best I've played this season. These kinds of wins are huge. I had a lot of forehand winners and was able to make those angles." WTA story Martina will now head north to the LA suburb of Carson for next week's East West Bank Classic. tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: San Diego & Stockholm |
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(Aug 1, 2007) On Tuesday night at the Carlsbad, California La Costa Resort & Spa, 7th seeded # 13 Martina Hingis, the 1997 and 1999 San Diego tourney champ, playing in her first match since June, defeated # 32 Michaella Krajicek from Delft, The Netherlands, 7-5, 6-2. match recap Martina has played very little since March due to a hip injury. Martina said: "I was tested right away. I knew [Michaella would] be tough. She's had some great results, but now I know where I stand and I think I'm in a good place... "This is really the first time I've felt like myself on court since Indian Wells. It felt like I was being reborn this year - I haven't felt this good in a long time." WTA story Martina is swinging a new axe, instead of her previous Yonex NanoSpeed RQS 11 she is wielding an all-black racquet with no labels whatsoever, not even on the base of the grip. This would appear to indicate that Martina is negotiating with a racquet company other than Yonex, and they have not yet come to terms. |
 New bat on Tuesday
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Martina will play either her compatriot, 11th-seeded # 17 Patty Schnyder, or # 67 Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia in the 3rd round on Thursday.
(Jul 29, 2007 revised) Martina Hingis will be at the Carlsbad, California La Costa Resort & Spa this week (a bit north of San Diego) for the Tier I Acura Classic. Martina has not played in the past month while recovering from a hip injury she incurred in March, which caused her to miss the French Open and hampered her movement at Wimbledon.
Currently ranked # 13, Martina is seeded 7th for the Acura Classic and has a 1st round bye. Martina will play # 32 Michaella Krajicek in the 2nd round on Tuesday evening at 7pm on the Stadium court. If she wins, Martina might face her compatriot # 17 Patty Schnyder in the 3rd round.
 Martina on Friday |
(Jun 29, 2007) On Friday, in the 3rd round of The Championships at Wimbledon, 26 year old # 75 Laura Granville from Chicago, Illinois, defeated the 1997 Wimbledon champion, 26 year old 9th seeded # 9 Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-2. Martina is still hampered by a hip injury incurred in March, which has only partially healed, and which caused her to miss the Family Circle Cup, Italian Open, and French Open. Martina is not scheduled to play again until the Acura Classic at San Diego, which begins July 30. This will give her a month to heal and still leave a few weeks to prepare for the US Open. Martina said: "[Laura] started off well. I think she served very well, made it hard for me to get into rallies, high percentage first serve. Didn't have too many chances on her serve. "Second set definitely had chances, but she didn't really miss much. She dictated well from the baseline. It was like 30-all, 30-love, deuces back and forth. She ended up winning the games, which were important, yup... |
"Every time I had like second serve opportunities, I'd miss some easy ones. Especially in the first set... it felt like everything I missed by a couple inches. The confidence goes down when you want to be attacking. My serve probably wasn't the greatest either. I don't know. Just like here and there, a point here, a point there, felt like would maybe help me get out of things, but didn't. So keep going...
"I see this definitely as a success, having won a couple rounds, come through the second after being down match points in the first match. But definitely had chances to get over. You know, the draw was quite open. Wish I had done better. At the end of the day, like I said, I'm happy that I'm getting healthier again. That's the most important thing...
"There is something going on [with the hip injury], still some inflammation. I mean, I haven't really been able to run that much. Workouts are just the bike, things without pounding. I used to run a couple hours a day. When you can't do that, definitely there is some cardio work which needs to be done, but I haven't been able to do that yet. We'll see. When I get back home, do some couple more tests, MRI, see how it is. Right now, during the tournament, I didn't want to know how bad I am [laughter]...
"I tried everything possible. I was doing like rehab and stuff four, five hours a day, lots of stretching, lots of relaxing the muscles. So actually the bone has, you know, some space to breathe, can heal. But, I mean, pounding and playing tennis and still working out doesn't help...
"I said after Berlin, I won't come back until I'm super percent healthy. But then it gets kind of tiring when you just watch others. That's why I didn't want to miss out. I mean, I had to miss out on the French Open. I just didn't want to miss Wimbledon. I mean, probably at the end of the day, it wasn't like the smartest thing, but at least I gave myself a chance.
"I'm getting into better condition instead of not doing anything. Yeah, I mean, like this time around, the US Open is a long way ahead. Hopefully until then I can definitely do whatever I need to do, and have some good preparation now four or five weeks until the next tournament...
"I was happy to go on Court 2 again. Laura, I definitely have to give her credit. She played well. She took advantage of me having not always the best points played, maybe not the best day at the office. But she didn't let me really come back. I mean, I had my chances. I didn't take them. Especially in the second set, the 3-all game was pretty big when she walked away with that. It was kind of difficult to keep going."
postmatch interview interview video: watch now - download & save
tennis.quickfound.net tourney page: Wimbledon
 Martina on Wednesday |
(June 27, 2007) On Wednesday, in the 2nd round of The Championships at Wimbledon, 26 year old 9th seeded # 9 Martina Hingis handily defeated # 85 Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-1, 6-2. Martina said: "I could only be happy that I was still in the draw. So try to make the best out of it. "I think today first game was pretty key, first couple games, because I held serve being down 40-15. Then also [Aiko] had game points on her own serve and didn't make it. Then I just kind of swept through it, through the first set, broke her down a little bit mentally... "I think the score [was not as close as] what the match kind of showed, because 6-1, 6-2, I beat her like that last time we played in Australia. It was definitely much more difficult today, especially in the beginning. I just tried to focus and keep the momentum." postmatch interview - interview video: watch now - download and save Martina will play # 75 Laura Granville from Chicago, Illinois, in the 3rd round on Friday. Laura defeated # 22 Sybille Bammer, 6-1, 6-4, in the 2nd round. Martina and Laura have played only once before, in the 1st round of the 2001 US Open, when Martina won, 6-2, 6-0. |
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(June 25, 2007) On Monday, in the 1st round of The Championships at Wimbledon, 26 year old 9th seeded # 9 Martina Hingis started slowly, and had to fight off two match points against her, yet defeated 18 year old wild card # 233 Naomi Cavaday of Britain 6(1)-7, 7-5, 6-0 (photo shown). match statistics Due to injuries, 1997 Wimbledon champion Martina was playing in only her third match since March. It took her a while to find her rhythm, as they say, in cold (61°F), rainy London, but after facing two break points trailing 4-5 in the 2nd set, Martina won 9 straight games. About her hip injury, Martina said: "Last Tuesday my doctor said the injury was about 60% or 70% healed. But I didn’t want to miss Wimbledon, no matter what. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest decision. The doctor said I can’t make the injury worse or reinjure it, and that it was up to me. I only just started hitting again last Friday. "Obviously that wasn’t the ideal preparation coming into Wimbledon, and I felt a little tender at the start of this match. Now I’m just glad I don’t have to play again for a couple of days." Wimbledon story |
 Martina on Monday
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About playing on Court 2, the Graveyard of Champions, Martina said: "I've never lost on Court 2. I know it's a graveyard of champions, but it's never been to me... Somehow I never felt like, 'Okay, she's on top of me.' I was always hanging in there. It was never like on my mind that I'm going to lose. I was right there with her."
postmatch interview interview video: watch now - download & save
Martina will play # 85 Aiko Nakamura of Japan in the 2nd round on Wednesday (if rain does not delay the schedule). Aiko is a tougher opponent than Naomi. However, Aiko is not British, is not a lefty, and Martina has played her once before, in the 3rd round of this year's Australian Open, when Martina won, 6-2, 6-1.
 Martina at the Thursday, June 21 player party |
(June 22, 2007 revised) # 9 Martina Hingis is seeded 9th for the 2007 Championships at Wimbledon, and will play 19 year old British wildcard # 233 Naomi Cavaday in the 1st round on Monday, at noon on Court 2. They have never before met on the field of combat. If she wins, Martina will play either # 85 Aiko Nakamura of Japan or # 134 Martina Sucha of Slovakia in the 2nd round. 1997 Wimbledon champ Martina has not played a match in six weeks, sidelined by hip, leg and back injuries which caused her to withdraw from the French Open and Italian Open. However, if Martina is healthy now, she should have little trouble in the first two rounds, despite the fact that she will first face a Brit on the court known as The Graveyard of Champions. Martina is in the top half of the draw. If she keeps winning, in the 3rd round she might face # 22 Sybille Bammer, in the 4th round # 8 Anna Chakvetadze, in the quarterfinals # 3 Jelena Jankovic, in the semifinals # 1 Justine Henin, and in the final, # 2 Maria Sharapova. Good luck, Martina. (May 16, 2007) # 7 Martina Hingis has withdrawn from this years French Open to give a hip, leg and back injuries time to heal. Martina had already withdrawn from the Italian Open, where she was 2006 champion. Martina has won at Wimbledon and the US Open, and is a three-time Australian Open champion, but has not yet won at Roland Garros. |
On May 11, after suffering much pain during a loss to compatriot Patty Schnyder in Berlin, Martina said: "I'm not going to go and play tournaments unless I am 100 percent ready... [Withdrawing is] on my mind because I'm not going to make anybody happy, especially not myself, to go out there, and I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly."
 Soggy on Thursday |
(May 10, 2007--revised May 11) On Thursday in rain-soaked Berlin, Germany, in the 3rd round of the Qatar Total German Open, 26-year-old 4th-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis was defeated by her compatriot, 28-year-old 15th-seeded # 19 Patty Schnyder from Baech, Switzerland, 6-4, 6-0. The match was stopped by rain with the score tied at 3-3; after they resumed play, Martina took a point to win her service game that had been interrupted, then Patty won the last nine games. Martina was hampered by the same hip injury which caused her to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston last month. She also is having back and leg problems. Martina said: "I haven't felt my best physically for a couple of weeks now, and I need to work on that; the cold heavy weather and the stopping and starting didn't help my hip or my leg either. But she handled the conditions much better than I did and just played much better. She played smart and deserved to win... I wanted to do the right thing and finish the match out of respect for Patty." |
On Friday, due to the injuries, Martina withdrew from next week's Italian Open, where she is defending champion. She also might withdraw from the French Open later this month, to give the injuries more time to heal.
Martina said: "I'm not going to go and play tournaments unless I am 100 percent ready... [Withdrawing is] on my mind because I'm not going to make anybody happy, especially not myself, to go out there, and I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly... I'll see how far I can get in the next two weeks. It's not a lot of time, so every day has to be a good day, and we'll see." WTA story - Reuters story
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Patty said: "In the first set I hit a lot of angles, and my tactics worked well; we had lots of long rallies and close games... Obviously Martina was in great pain. But she's tough and I hope she will be able to get through a three-set match soon again." AP story - tennis.quickfound.net Berlin tourney page (May 9, 2007) After two wet days, rain was not a problem on Wednesday in Berlin. In the 2nd round of the Qatar Total German Open 4th-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis, rusty after a month without matches, defeated 20-year-old qualifier # 80 Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine, 7-5, 7-6(7). In the 3rd round on Thursday, Martina will face her compatriot, 28-year-old 15th-seeded # 19 Patty Schnyder from Baech, Switzerland. Surprisingly, these two top 20 regulars have rarely met on the field of combat, and have not played each other in over 8 years. Martina leads Patty 2-1 career matches. |
 Patty amusing Martina on Tuesday night |
 Martina's Monday mug |
(revised May 8, 2007) # 6 Martina Hingis is in soggy Berlin this week for the Qatar Total German Open. Martina is seeded 4th, and has a 1st round bye. On Wednesday (if the rain lets up), in the 4th match of the day in Steffi Graf Stadium, Martina will play her 2nd round match against qualifier # 80 Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine. Martina and Kateryna have never before met in a WTA match, but they did play each other in World Team Tennis in 2005, Martina winning 5-1. This time it might not be so easy; Kateryna, whose sister Alona played Justine Henin in the rain-delayed Warsaw final on Monday, has also been winning more recently. If Martina wins, it gets very tough right away. She will likely face her compatriot # 19 Patty Schnyder in the 3rd round, and # 15 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals. If she reaches the semis, Martina might run into either # 3 Amelie Mauresmo or # 10 Dinara Safina, and, in the final, # 1 Justine Henin, # 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, # 7 Jelena Jankovic, or last year's Berlin champ, # 9 Nadia Petrova. |
 Martina on Thursday |
(Apr 12, 2007) Martina Hingis attended the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, today, where she was presented with the 2007 Meredith Inspiration Award. The award is presented annually to a "woman professional athlete who by her actions has inspired women worldwide to achieve their personal and professional goals." It comes with $5000 for charity; Martina added $5000 of her own, and is giving the money to UNICEF. Martina is not playing in Charleston this year due to a left hip injury she incurred last week. The injury should heal in time for her next tourney, the German Open in Berlin, beginning May 7. Martina said: "I have to just take good care of it and then see what I can do about it, and it's not like I have to have surgery or anything. In the past I've had to deal with much other things, bigger problems than this one." interview (Apr 7, 2007) # 6 Martina Hingis has withdrawn from next week's Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, due to a left hip injury she incurred this week. |
Martina said: "I have been working as hard as possible to be in competitive shape for the tournament but unfortunately have not recovered enough."
Since this will leave her without any match play for a month, there is a chance that Martina will seek a wild card to play in the J&S Cup in Warsaw (April 30). Otherwise, Martina will not be playing again until the German Open in Berlin, which begins May 7.
tennis.quickfound.net Charleston tourney page
(Mar 30, 2007) On Friday at Key Biscayne, Florida, in the doubles semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, 2nd-seeded Cara Black & Liezel Huber, who have a combined doubles ranking of 7, defeated wild cards Martina Hingis and her partner Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-3. For their doubles efforts, Martina & Daniela each will pick up $17,535 (minus US taxes for Daniela, who resides in income-tax-free Monaco; minus US taxes now and Swiss taxes later for Martina).
Martina will now have a week off before her next event, the green clay Family Circle Cup, in Charleston, South Carolina, which begins April 9th.
tennis.quickfound.net Miami tourney page
(Mar 28, 2007) On Wednesday at Key Biscayne, Florida, in the doubles quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, wild cards Martina Hingis and her partner Daniela Hantuchova crushed, killed and destroyed unseeded Mara Santangelo & Bryanne Stewart, 6-1, 6-2.
In the doubles semifinals on Friday, Martina and Daniela will play 2nd-seeded Cara Black & Liezel Huber.
(Mar 26, 2007 revised) On Monday at Key Biscayne, Florida, in the 2nd round of doubles at the Sony Ericsson Open, wild cards Martina Hingis and her partner Daniela Hantuchova defeated unseeded Elena Likhovtseva & Elena Vesnina, 6-3, 6-3.
On Wednesday, on Court 1 at 4:30pm or later Martina & Daniela will play unseeded Mara Santangelo & Bryanne Stewart in a doubles quarterfinal. If they win, they will play 2nd-seeded Cara Black & Liezel Huber in a semifinal on Friday.
 Congrats on Sunday |
(Mar 25, 2007) On Sunday at Key Biscayne, Florida, in the 3rd round of the Sony Ericsson Open, the 2006 WTA Newcomer of the Year award-winner, 18-year-old # 52 Agnieszka Radwanska from Krakow, Poland, defeated 5th-seeded 26-year-old # 6 Martina Hingis, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In previous years this match would have been played on Monday, but this year tourney organizers changed the schedule so that the entire 3rd round was played on Sunday, instead of half on each day. Although she lost, with this match Martina become the 4th female player in history to total over $20 million in career prize money. The other three are Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Lindsay Davenport. Martina said: "I just wasn't able to pull it off today. And it has been like that the last three, four weeks of tournaments. I'm getting a little bit tired of losing matches I'm supposed to win. I think I have to think some things over... "I probably underestimated [Agnieszka] a little bit. She played well. I saw her in Dubai and she didn't have great wins. She's very up and down. Definitely she has potential in the future, but it's getting more and more difficult." WTA story |
Agnieszka said: "I had nothing to lose, so I tried to play my best and I did it. Martina is one of the best, and I'm very happy."
Martina may have been tired; she played both singles and doubles on Saturday, her singles being the second match of the day, and her doubles the fourth. On the other hand, Agnieszka's 2nd round match was the one of the first of the day on Saturday, and she is not playing doubles.
On Sunday, Martina & Agnieszka were scheduled to play the first match of the day, giving Martina little time to recover. One would think that tourney organizers could have scheduled Martina's match later in the day, but apparently they did not care about this situation.
Martina is still alive in doubles; in the 2nd round on Monday (the 5th match on Court 1), she and her partner Daniela Hantuchova will play an unseeded pair, either Elena Likhovtseva & Elena Vesnina, or Jarmila Gajdosova & Jelena Kostanic Tosic.
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(Mar 24, 2007) On Saturday at Key Biscayne, Florida, in the 2nd round of the Sony Ericsson Open, 5th-seeded 26-year-old # 6 Martina Hingis handily defeated 24-year-old qualifier # 103 Iveta Benesova from Most, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2. On Friday, March 23, the WTA Player Award recipients were announced, and, not surprisingly, Martina was named Comeback Player of the Year. Martina amassed a 53-19 match record last year, winning the the Tier I Italian Open in Rome and the Kolkata, India, tourney as well, and recording her 500th career match victory. In the 3rd round on Sunday, Martina will play the 2006 WTA Newcomer of the Year award-winner, 18-year-old # 52 Agnieszka Radwanska from Krakow, Poland. They have never before met on the field of combat. Martina also played doubles on Saturday; in a 1st round match, she and partner Daniela Hantuchova defeated 5th-seeded Katarina Srebotnik & Ai Sugiyama, 6-4, 6-2. |
 Awarded on Friday |
(Mar 20, 2007 revised) WTA # 6 Martina Hingis will be at Key Biscayne, Florida (just off the Miami coast) this week and next for the Sony Ericsson Open. In 1997 and 2000 Martina was the champion at this tourney, which in recent years was the NASDAQ-100 Open, before that the Ericsson, and before that the Lipton. Martina is seeded 5th, and, like all 32 seeds, has a 1st round bye.
In the 2nd round on Saturday, March 24th, Martina will play 24-year-old qualifier # 103 Iveta Benesova from Most, Czech Republic. Martina has played Iveta once, in the 3rd round of the 2006 Australian Open, when Martina won, 6-4, 6-1.
If Martina wins, and keeps winning, she might face # 31 Jie Zheng in the 3rd round, # 14 Ana Ivanovic in the 4th round, # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, and either # 1 Maria Sharapova, # 15 (& former # 1) Serena Williams, # 38 (& former # 1) Venus Williams, # 10 Nicole Vaidisova, or # 13 Patty Schnyder in the semifinals. If Martina can reach the final, she would likely be facing either # 2 Justine Henin or # 5 Kim Clijsters (all rankings listed are from last week, same as those listed on the official drawsheet, which were used to determine the seeds).
Martina is also playing doubles at Key Biscayne, entered as a wild card partnered with Daniela Hantuchova, who is ranked 13th at doubles. Daniela is playing well; she won the singles title at Indian Wells on Saturday. The last time Martina played doubles (in Doha, partnered with Maria Kirilenko) she won her 37th title. So Daniela and Martina might do very well--but the doubles draw, like the singles, is very tough.
 Martina on Tuesday |
(Mar 13, 2007) On Tuesday at Indian Wells, California, in the 4th round of the Pacific Life Open, the 2002 champ, 23-year-old 14th-seeded # 19 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, defeated 26-year-old 3rd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis, 6-4, 6-3. Martina was not alone: six of the eight 4th round matches ended in upsets. Martina took leads in both sets, but was not able to hold on to them. Martina said: "...We know each other's games pretty well, where our strengths and weaknesses are. I tried to overcome [Daniela's] backhand, and she goes for my forehand... "Only last week [in Doha, Mar 1] I was up a set and 4-1 against her, and I managed to lose, and today, it was more difficult. That's why she had the confidence to serve and played [well], because of last week... "She's smart. She knows what I'm doing. She reads my game. I read hers. She has great serves." interview - mp3 audio clip Daniela said: "It was such a joy for me to be out there... I always enjoy playing Martina because she really plays the way tennis should be played. And I have so much respect for that. And also, whenever we have a chance to practice, it's always great. So definitely she brings the best out of me." interview - mp3 audio clip 1 - mp3 clip 2 tennis.quickfound.net Indian Wells tourney page |
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Martina will now head to Florida, and have a week to prepare at her house at Saddlebrook (Wesley Chapel) for the Sony Ericsson Open (formerly the NASDAQ-100 Open) at Miami (on Key Biscayne). Main draw there will not begin until Wednesday; Martina will have a 1st round bye, and play her 2nd round match on Friday or Saturday, March 23 or 24. (Mar 11, 2007) On Sunday at Indian Wells, California, in the 3rd round of the Pacific Life Open, 26-year-old 3rd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis struggled a bit late in the match, but defeated 23-year-old qualifier # 127 Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, 6-2, 6-4. Martina led 4-0 in the 2nd set--then Yvonne won four straight games. Martina said: "The first four games were unbelievable; 16 consecutive points until 4-0 and I was thinking about it, and I just had to double fault. I mean, I just didn't miss. I mean, everything just went perfectly. But at 4-4, it's like, 'Okay, you've got to dig deep now.'" interview - WTA story - mp3 audio clip In the 4th round on Tuesday, 1998 Indian Wells champ Martina will play the 2002 Pacific Life Open champ, 23-year-old 14th-seeded # 19 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. |
 Watching TV on Sunday |
Daniela and Martina are tied 2-2 in career matches. Daniela defeated Martina 6-3, 6-4, the first time they played, in the 2002 Indian Wells final, to win her first WTA singles title. Martina defeated Daniela the next two times they played, in Hamburg in 2002, and in Montreal in 2006, both times 7-5, 6-4. They most recently met a little over a week ago, in the quarterfinals in Doha, where Daniela won, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
About Daniela, Martina said: "We have a history here. She's similar to Lindsay or Serena, where you don't have very much time. They're very good ball strikers, good servers, and you just have to start to dictate from first point."
At Doha, Martina led 6-1, 4-1 before Daniela got into the match. Martina said: "She loosened up in Doha after she broke me back; she won the second set so she had the momentum, and she flowed with it. She was missing before. I was playing well but she started playing better. Once she loosens up she's tough."
 Martina on Friday |
(Mar 9, 2007) On Friday at Indian Wells, California, in the 2nd round of the Pacific Life Open, the 1998 champion, 26-year-old 3rd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis handily defeated 16-year-old wild card # 172 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-1, 6-3. Martina said: "I think in the beginning [Caroline] was a little nervous; but I think she is very talented and can go a long way. She's already improved since last time I played her. She's getting there. There's definitely some potential... "I tried to come in more. And as I did I won a lot of points at the net so that was satisfying. Hopefully I can bring that in against the top players as well. If I can put pressure on the lower or higher ranked players, then that's the only way I can succeed. And matches get easier this way. When I needed it, I came in and made some faster points. You don't get as tired." WTA story In the 3rd round on Sunday, Martina will play 23-year-old qualifier # 127 Yvonne Meusburger of Austria. They have never before met on the field of combat. interview transcript - post-match mp3 audio clip |
(Mar 6, 2007 revised) WTA # 6 Martina Hingis is in Indian Wells, California, this week for the Pacific Life Open. Martina is the 3rd seed, and, like all 32-seeds in this 2-week, 7-round tourney, has a 1st-round bye.
In the 2nd round on Friday Martina will play 16-year-old wild card # 172 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Martina and Caroline have played once before, in the 1st round last year in Seoul, where Martina won, 6-3, 6-2.
Martina is in the top half of the draw. If she reaches the 4th round, she might face # 19 Daniela Hantuchova, whom Martina lost to last week in Doha, or # 25 Francesca Schiavone. Her most likely quarterfinal opponents would be # 11 Anna Chakvetadze or # 16 Shahar Peer, both very tough. If Martina wins her way through, she might have to defeat top-seeded # 1 Maria Sharapova in the semis to reach the final, where 2nd-seeded # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova could be waiting.
Neither Martina, nor her recent partner Maria Kirilenko, are playing doubles at Indian Wells this year.
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(Mar 3, 2007) On Saturday in Doha, Qatar, in the doubles final of the Qatar Total Open, former doubles (and singles) # 1 Martina Hingis and partner Maria Kirilenko defeated Agnes Szavay & Vladmira Uhlirova, 6-1, 6-1. It was Martina's 36th WTA doubles title, and her first (non-mixed) doubles title since returning to the WTA Tour last year after a 3-year layoff. It was 20-years-young Maria's 3rd WTA doubles title. It was also Martina's 5th WTA doubles title with a partner from Moscow who, like Martina, wears adidas and swings a Yonex bat--the other four (including the Australian Open twice) were, of course, with Anna Kournikova, who won 12 more with partners other than Martina. (Mar 2, 2007) On Friday in Doha, Qatar, in a doubles semifinal, unseeded Martina Hingis & Maria Kirilenko crushed, killed and destroyed Meghann Shaughnessy & Anna-Lena Groenefeld, the 2nd seeds (ranked # 13 and # 15 at doubles), 6-2, 6-0. |
 Maria & Martina on Saturday |
In the doubles final on Saturday, Martina (currently unranked at doubles, but a former # 1) & Maria (doubles # 35) will play Agnes Szavay & Vladmira Uhlirova (ranked # 121 and # 55 at doubles).
The 1st and 4th seeded teams withdrew from the doubles before play began due to injuries. Agnes & Vladimira had no seeded opposition, while Martina & Maria defeated the 2nd and 3rd seeds to reach the final. Although strange things can happen on a tennis court, and often do, Martina & Maria should win the final easily, and share the $70,000 prize.
tennis.quickfound.net Doha tourney page
 Long day Thursday |
(Mar 1, 2007) On Thursday in Doha, in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open, 23-year-old # 19 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) defeated 3rd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. After winning the 1st set 6-1, Martina took a 4-1 lead in the 2nd. Daniela then won 7 straight games to win the 2nd set and take a 2-0 lead in the 3rd. Martina broke back to level the score at 4-4, but then committed errors giving Daniela another break. Daniela then served out the match at love. Daniela said: "In my mind I always thought I had a chance even when I was 1-4 down after losing the first set 1-6. With Martina missing lots of balls I knew it was (only) a matter of time. I am proud of the way I turned the match around. I just stayed positive and played my game and beat a top-10 player. I am happy about it." AFP story Martina is not yet finished in Doha. After a rest she returned to the courts for a doubles quarterfinal, and, with her partner Maria Kirilenko, defeated 3rd-seeded Kveta Peschke & Janette Husarova, 6-3, 7-6(5). |
In the doubles semifinals on Friday, Martina & Maria will play top-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy & Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
 Martina on Wednesday |
(Feb 28, 2007) On Wednesday in Doha, in the 2nd round of the Qatar Total Open, 26-year-old 3rd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis defeated 20-year-old # 32 Maria Kirilenko from Moscow, Russia, 6-2, 6-2. Martina & Maria will be getting together again on Thursday, to play as partners in a doubles quarterfinal (see below). In the singles quarterfinals on Thursday, Martina will play 23-year-old # 19 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco). This will be the first match of the day on Center Court, and will begin at 4pm local time. Martina will move to Court 1 for her doubles match an hour or so after her singles match is completed. Martina leads Daniela 2-1 in career matches. The first time they played, in the final at Indian Wells in 2002, Daniela won 6-3, 6-4. Later that year on red clay in Hamburg, Martina won 7-5, 6-4. Their most recent meeting was in the 3rd round in Montreal last year, where Martina again won 7-5, 6-4. (Feb 27, 2007) # 6 Martina Hingis is in Doha, Qatar, this week to play in the Qatar Total Open. Martina, seeded 3rd in the draw, has a 1st round bye. |
In the 2nd round on Wednesday, Martina will play her current doubles partner, # 32 Maria Kirilenko from Moscow, Russia. This will be the third match of the day on Center Court, with the first match beginning at 3pm local time. Martina leads Maria 2-0 in career matches, but the last time they played, on red clay in Warsaw last year, it was very close, Martina winning 7-5, 7-6(1).
As mentioned, Martina is once again playing doubles. She and her partner Maria Kirilenko defeated Eleni Daniilidou & Jasmine Woehr in the 1st round on Tuesday, 6-4, 6-3. Martina & Maria will play a more formidable duo, 3rd-seeded Janette Husarova & Kveta Peschke, in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
 Martina on Thursday |
(Feb 22, 2007) On Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, 5th-seeded # 10 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated 4th-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis 7-6(3), 6-2. Martina had not fully recovered from her 2nd round match, which ended at about 1:30 am Thursday morning. Martina said: "The first set was key, pretty much. In the tiebreaker, [Jelena] just played some better shots and was more aggressive. You could tell that the fatigue was setting in after the first set. Maybe if I had won that, you kind of go with the momentum. After that, I had chances but didn’t take them." WTA story mp3 audio interviews: Martina: part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - Jelena: part 1 - part 2 Martina will now move on to Doha, Qatar, for next week's Qatar Total Open, where she will be seeded 3rd (if there are no higher-ranked late withdrawals or additional entries). tennis.quickfound.net Dubai tourney page |
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(Feb 21, 2007) On Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, in the 2nd round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, 4th-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis started slowly, but narrowly defeated unseeded 24-year-old # 33 Anabel Medina Garrigues from Valencia, Spain, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Martina lost the first three games of the match, then won the next three, but Anabel broke Martina's serve again to take the 1st set, despite the fact that Martina made 70% of her 1st serves good in the match, and only double faulted once. Martina converted only 5 of 17 break point opportunities against Anabel; Anabel converted 4 of 8 break points against Martina. Martina Hingis postmatch mp3 audio interview clip In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Martina will play 5th-seeded # 10 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. Martina & Jelena have played only once before, in the 1st round at Sydney earlier this year, where Jelena won, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Jelena was very hot at that time; she had won just won the Auckland tourney, and reached the Sydney final before losing to Kim Clijsters, 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4. Jelena may have cooled a bit since then, but Martina will very likely have to find her "A" game to beat her. |
 Martina on Wednesday |
 New style from adidas? |
(Feb 20, 2007) Doubles specialists Kveta Peschke & Janette Husarova defeated impromptu wild card entries Martina Hingis & Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-4 today in the 1st round of doubles at the Dubai Tennis Championships. In the 2nd round of singles on Wednesday, Martina will play 24-year-old # 33 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain. This will be the last match of the day on center court, which means it probably will not get started until 8 or 9pm Dubai time (8 or 9am PT in the US). Surprisingly, Martina and Anabel have never before met on the field of combat. (Feb 19, 2007) # 6 Martina Hingis is in the United Arab Emirates this week for the Dubai Tennis Championships, a Tier I event with a $1.5 million purse. 4th-seeded Martina, who has a 1st-round bye, might face a series of difficult opponents in this tough tourney: # 17 Jelena Jankovic in the QFs, # 3 Amelie Mauresmo in the SFs, and # 1 Justine Henin in the final. |
 Polo lessons on Sunday |
 # 43 on Sunday |
(Feb 4, 2007) On Sunday in Tokyo, in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, the 1997, 1999, 2000 & 2002 champion, 26-year-old 2nd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis from Trubbach, Switzerland, won a record fifth Tokyo indoor title by defeating 19-year-old 5th-seeded # 14 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (residence: Basel, Switzerland), 6-4, 6-2. Martina said: "At 4-all, 15-love, I won 14 consecutive points. You need to break down your opponent's game, and then it becomes more of a mental game. It's important to keep your concentration." "The most important thing against Ana is to stay close with her in the beginning; I noticed in her past matches, she gets off to a very fast start, and after that, her confidence keeps building. She really goes for her shots and will hit a lot of winners. We had some very close games at the start and I tried to just stay with her. After the first set, I gained more momentum." WTA story Ana said: "In the beginning, we were both playing well - it was high-quality tennis. But at 4-all, my concentration dropped a bit, and she hardly made any mistakes. My legs felt heavier. It was hard to move, and I couldn't jump as well on my serve. At the end of the second set I felt better but it was too late. She played so well and was defending very well. She just played unbelievable today." |
Ana had defeated Martina 6-2, 6-3 in the Montreal final last year, their only previous meeting. Ana said: "The difference between this and Montréal is I was more consistent in Montréal. I really tried to enjoy myself out there and play my game - but today she was better. I hope we will have more matches. I learned a lot and this was a great experience. You can learn as much from your losses as your wins."
It is Martina's 43rd WTA singles title in 68 finals; Ana is now 2-1 in WTA singles finals. tennis.quickfound.net Tokyo tourney page
Martina will now have a couple of weeks off; her next scheduled action is at the Dubai Women's Open in the United Arab Emirates, which begins Feb 19.
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(Feb 3, 2007) On Saturday in Tokyo, in the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, 2nd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis defeated the 2006 Tokyo indoor champion, 25-year-old 3rd-seeded # 8 Elena Dementieva from Moscow, Russia, 6-4, 6-3. Martina had lost to Elena in the 2006 Pan Pacific final, 6-2, 6-0. Martina said: "I knew I was up to the challenge and could hold my own today. I got off to a great start and felt I couldn't miss in the first set. I was happy to win and get more than two games compared to last year. "This is my eighth appearance in a final here, and I'm really excited about it. I think right now, I share the record for most titles here with Lindsay Davenport, and I hope to break that record tomorrow." WTA story Elena said: "[Martina] was playing very solid, very consistent. She played smart, as usual. I made too many unforced errors and didn't take advantage of the short balls. I couldn't come to the net. She was playing better in the longer rallies today. |
 Setsubun Saturday
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In the final on Sunday, Martina will play 19-year-old 5th-seeded # 14 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (residence: Basel, Switzerland). They have played only once before, in the final of the 2006 Canadian Open in Montreal, when Ana won, 6-2, 6-3.
Martina said: "Ana is definitely a solid player. She has some ups and downs, but she's Top 15, young, and I know we're going to see more of her. This surface suits her, and she seems to playing really well here."
Ana said: "[Martina is] very good on this court... I'm definitely excited about this match, especially because it seems as if I improve with each match."
 Forehand on Friday |
(Feb 2, 2007) On Friday in Tokyo, in the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, 2nd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis crushed, killed and destroyed a good player (the world doubles # 1), 22-year-old # 27 Samantha Stosur from Gold Coast, Australia, 6-0, 6-1. In the semifinals on Saturday, Martina will play the 2006 Tokyo indoor champion, 25-year-old 3rd-seeded # 8 Elena Dementieva from Moscow, Russia. Martina and Elena are tied at 3-3 in career matches, and at 1-1 since Martina's return to the Tour last year. In last year's Pan Pacific Open final, Elena defeated Martina 6-2, 6-0. But 3 months later in Berlin, Martina defeated Elena, 6-3, 6-2. Elena admires Martina's style of tennis very much, saying that Martina plays tennis "like a game of chess." In last year's Tokyo indoor final, Martina tried taking the net to thwart Elena's strong groundstrokes. But when Martina did this, Elena hit winners by very effectively lobbing over Martina's head. After that match, Martina said: "I'm not looking for any excuses. [Elena] was just too good today." |
On Friday, 4-time Pan Pacific Open champion Martina said: "If I play like I did today, I don't have to be afraid of anyone on the other side of the net...
"It's not coincidence I play well here [in Tokyo]. I'm very comfortable here. It feels like being home and not being away at a tournament." Yomiuri story
Elena said: "[Martina] improved a lot [since returning to the Tour after a 3-year injury layoff] and it will be a different match than last year. She has a lot more experience and is much more confident." WTA story
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(Jan 31, 2007) On Wednesday in Tokyo, in the 2nd round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, 2nd-seeded # 6 Martina Hingis defeated 33-year-old qualifier # 60 Nicole Pratt of Australia (residence: Orlando, Florida, USA), 6-1, 7-5. 1997, 1999, 2000 & 2002 Pan Pacific Open champ Martina said: "I was pretty confident coming in. I had a little difficulty closing it out, and that was more mental than anything, but [Nicole] made some good shots, and I think I did well to close out the match. "This surface really suits my game. If you can play offensively and come in every now and then, it can really help you, and that's what I've done in the past." AP story In the quarterfinals on Friday, Martina will play either 6th-seeded # 16 Na Li of China, or # 27 Samantha Stosur of Australia. Martina is 1-0 against both Na & Sam. Martina defeated Na last week, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, in a tough 4th round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne. One year earlier, also in Melbourne, Martina defeated Sam in the same round, 6-1, 7-6(8). |
 Martina on Wednesday
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(Jan 30, 2007) Martina Hingis is in Tokyo this week, where she is the 2nd seed (behind # 1 Maria Sharapova) at the indoor Toray Pan Pacific Open. Martina has a 1st round bye. Martina has won the Tokyo indoor tourney 4 times, in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002. In the 2nd round, on Wednesday, Martina will play 33-year-old qualifier # 60 Nicole Pratt of Australia (residence: Orlando, Florida). Martina defeated Nicole in the 2nd round at Gold Coast 3 weeks ago, 6-0, 6-1. Martina's ranking moved up to # 6 on Monday (although she might be seen listed as # 7 here this week because the draws are based on the previous week's rankings). (Jan 24, 2007) On Wednesday at Melbourne, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, 23-year-old 4th-seeded # 5 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium, defeated a 6-time Australian Open finalist, and the 1997, '98 & '99 champion, 26-year-old 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. |
 Martina and Jie Zheng
in Tokyo on Monday |
 Off to Tokyo |
Martina hit 15 winners in the match with 20 unforced errors; Kim had 46 winners, but with 62 errors, including 9 double faults. Both players broke the other's serve 5 times, on 13 break point opportunities each. Kim won a total of 104 points; Martina, 99. match stats Martina said: "I came out stronger and I had my chances today. You better make it next time against a player like [Kim]. It was definitely disappointing. I felt like I was winning the match and I had all the things in my hands. But she's a great fighter. It was a great match... "Today I always tried to give her a different look at the ball because I think that's why she made so many errors. If you let her go right and left, which she loves to do, to give her the same shot, I mean, that's suicide. That's what I think I did very well. That's why she was spreading. "I got her a few times, anticipated well. That's why she was missing, because somehow I was already waiting for her shots. That's my game. That's how I win my matches. That's why I was up early in the second set, with a set behind my back. It was definitely the most disappointing loss against her I've had." postmatch interview - Eurosport interview video |
Kim said: "[Martina is] tough to play because she's a player who really feels it. She knows when the opponent's not playing well. I'm sure it wasn't that hard to see that today. She figures it out pretty fast. She plays on your weaknesses. I think she did that really well today.
"I think I was just lucky a little bit at the end, too. Hit a few passing shots, a few lobs that worked, that went my way. Also with the challenges, you know, I got lucky there a couple of times.
"So you need a little bit of both. I think besides my hitting all those unforced errors, she had a few net cords in the beginning. I was lucky at the end. I didn't play well. I beat a good player, so I'm not complaining." postmatch interview - Eurosport interview video
Martina is now done for the year in Melbourne, she and partner Svetlana Kuznetsova were defeated on Sunday in the 2nd round of doubles by Vera Dushevina and Maria Kirilenko, 6-2, 6-3.
tennis.quickfound.net Australian Open tourney page
Martina will now proceed to Tokyo for the Toray Pan Pacific Open, where 1st round play begins on Tuesday. Martina is a former champion in Tokyo; last year she defeated Maria Sharapova in the semis, but lost in the final to Elena Dementieva.
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(Jan 22, 2007) On Monday at Melbourne, in the 4th round of the Australian Open, 26-year-old 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis defeated 24-year-old 19th-seeded # 21 Na Li from Wuhan, Hubei, China, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. match stats It was their first match against each other. But, Martina said: "[Na and I] practiced in the past a couple or three times... I knew what to expect. But I was really nervous in the beginning. She played well. You know, everyone else knows by now she serves almost a hundred percent first serves. Didn't really give me too many chances to do something. "I was thinking, Okay, if she can continue to play like that, it's too good. I just tried to hang in there. That was the most important thing. That was the key, to win the last point... "Even the first point of the match already, she got that ball pretty good, and I missed that first volley. After that I felt a little more pressure... I don't know. She just played really well, very consistent, compared to the other players, where they made a lot more errors at crucial points, but here I had to earn it. That was the difference. That's why she made the fourth round. That's why she had such a great win against Safina. I had to earn it... |
 Martina on Monday
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"It's funny. Some players were like, You did a lot of running today. I was, Yep, but I tried to make sure she did some, too. I think she was a little more tired at the end of the match because I was able to turn around the momentum. She started missing some easier shots... You could tell by her expression that she was also worn down a little bit... That's the first time I won a three-setter this year so far. Definitely happy. And against someone like Na Li, it's quite satisfying...
"[The fifth game of the 2nd set] was very important. I think that's what turned around the momentum. Holding that serve against the wind, against the sun, was quite key because after that she would just not be under the pressure, same as she was afterwards, because the sun started coming out. It was very difficult to serve against the sun.
"After I held there, she missed a couple of returns, which I was like, Okay, thank you. I should take advantage of that because she wasn't missing up until that point too many. That definitely gave me a new whole kind of life into the second set, yup." postmatch interview
In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, probably in the first or second match of the day at Rod Laver Arena, Martina will play 23-year-old 4th-seeded # 5 Kim Clijsters from Bree, Belgium.
This match is a major challenge for Martina. Although Martina and Kim are tied at 4-4 in career matches, Kim has won all three of their encounters since Martina returned last year from a 3-year retirement due to ankle injuries. All three of those matches were also quarterfinals, beginning with last year's Australian Open quarters (6-3, 2-6, 6-4), and that is where Martina has run into Kim again this year.
Martina said: "The difference is I'm more of a counterpuncher. [Kim is] the more offensive player. Last year we had a great match here. I was able to fight back. It was a quite slow start.
"I know I have to come out a hundred percent and ready from the beginning, otherwise I'll be run over. That's the key. I have a day rest tomorrow. Just practice, sleep well, give myself the best shot."
About facing Martina, Kim said: "We always have a lot of fun points when you play against Martina. She always comes up with some unbelievable shots that you don't expect. Sometimes when you play a player you kind of get used to their routine, you know kind of when they're going to play down the line, crosscourt. With her, you always have to be ready to go the other way, I think. That's what makes it so fun. It's very challenging."
 Martina on Saturday |
(Jan 20, 2007 revised) On Saturday at Melbourne, in the 3rd round of the Australian Open, 26-year-old 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis easily defeated 23-year-old # 64 Aiko Nakamura of Japan, 6-2, 6-1. Martina hit 18 winners with only 14 unforced errors; Aiko, 8 winners with 25 errors. match stats Martina said: "I played pretty well, especially the last three, four games. It was just in the beginning I didn't know exactly what [Aiko was] going to play... "I think I played some pretty good points also up at the net, tried to mix it up, did my job well... There were a few errors, a lot of unforced errors... "[Aiko is] a little feisty player. [But] every time I needed it, I came up with just no missing, and tried to do a little bit more extra." postmatch interview In the 4th round on Monday, at 11am in Rod Laver Arena, Martina will play 24-year-old 19th-seeded # 21 Na Li from Wuhan, Hubei, China. |
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(Jan 18, 2007) On Thursday at Melbourne, Australia, in the 2nd round of the Australian Open, 26-year-old 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis handily defeated 19-year-old qualifier # 135 Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia, 6-2, 6-2. Martina said: "I'd never seen [Alla] before so it took time to adjust to how she was playing. It was a different opponent from the first day. Against Nathalie [Dechy, in the 1st round], mentally it was a different attitude; the young girls just attack. "That's what you have to face today, and anybody can come out on a given day, and you have to just work against that, and try to definitely stay at the baseline." WTA story - match stats In the 3rd round on Saturday, Martina will play 23-year-old # 64 Aiko Nakamura of Japan, who defeated # 66 Sania Mirza of India in the 2nd round. Martina & Aiko have never before met on the field of combat. (Jan 17, 2007) Martina Hingis is playing doubles as well as singles in Melbourne this fortnight; partnered with the very formidable Svetlana Kuznetsova. On Wednesday, in the 1st round, unseeded Martina & Svetlana defeated 15th-seeded Jelena Jankovic and Janette Husarova, 7-5, 6-1. |
 Martina on Thursday
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In the 2nd round of doubles, Martina & Sveta will face either Lucie Hradecka & Renata Voracova OR Vera Dushevina & Maria Kirilenko.
Although she was mixed doubles champ last year, Martina is NOT playing mixed at this year's Australian Open.
 After match point Tuesday |
(Jan 16, 2007) On Tuesday at Melbourne, Australia, in the 1st round of the Australian Open, 26-year-old 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis crushed, killed and destroyed 27-year-old # 49 Nathalie Dechy of France (residence: Tournai, Belgium), 6-0, 6-2. Martina said: "I played very well... I was very nervous. So was she. But I started to loosen up and play some really good tennis, very focused, very intense. "I knew it's not going to be easy against Nathalie first round. It's a little bit similar than when I played Vera last year. You had to be ready first match." postmatch interview - match stats In the 2nd round on Thursday, Martina will play a qualifier, 19-year-old # 135 Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia. They have never before met on the field of combat. (Jan 12, 2007) In the 1st round of the 2007 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday, 6th-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis will play # 49 Nathalie Dechy of France. Martina leads 27-year-old Nathalie 6-0 in career matches and defeated her twice last year, but Nathalie is a former top-20 player, and can be very dangerous. |
Martina and Nathalie are in the top half of the draw. If Martina wins, in the 2nd round on Thursday later she will play either 20-year-old # 73 Emma Laine of Finland, or 19-year-old qualifier # 135 Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia. Martina played Emma in the 2nd round in Melbourne last year, and won 6-1, 6-1.
If she continues to win, Martina would likely face # 35 Eleni Daniilidou in the 3rd round, either # 21 Na Li or # 10 Dinara Safina in the 4th round, # 5 Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals, and either top-seeded # 2 Maria Sharapova, # 9 Patty Schnyder, # 13 Anna Chakvetadze, or # 14 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals. The players most likely to reach the final from the bottom half of the draw include # 12 Jelena Jankovic, # 3 Amelie Mauresmo, # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (who has had an upper respiratory infection), # 6 Nadia Petrova (who strained a muscle in Sydney), # 8 Elena Dementieva, and # 11 Nicole Vaidisova.
 Martina reclined on Monday while Jelena was attended to by the trainer |
(Jan 8, 2007) On Monday in Sydney, Australia, in the 1st round of the Medibank International, 21-year-old unseeded # 12 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia (residence: Bradenton, Florida, home of the Bollettieri Academy), who won the Auckland tourney last week, defeated 26-year-old 5th-seeded # 7 (and former # 1) Martina Hingis from Trubbach, Switzerland, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Jelena said: "I just came from Auckland so I didn't have much time to recover, but I was quite proud of how I managed to pull through... obviously it's a great win and gives me a lot of confidence." WTA story Martina said: "Sometimes you just can't think of putting the ball in, you have to take the risk. And this is not my type of game to do that. I've always been more of the building up points. But today, even if you miss sometimes, you have to go for it, which is where I have to change the mentality. |
"[Jelena is] a great player. She's had some great wins, a great second half of the year last year making the semis at the US Open. We'll probably see her soon in the top 10." The Australian story
Martina's next action will be on either Monday or Tuesday, in the 1st round of the Australian Open. Due to the withdrawal of # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne, # 7 Martina will be the 6th seed in Melbourne.
tennis.quickfound.net Sydney tourney page
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(Jan 6, 2007) On Saturday in Gold Coast, Australia, in the final of the Australian Women's Hardcourts, 20-year-old 2nd-seeded # 11 Dinara Safina of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco) defeated 26-year-old top-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Dinara said: "It was a great match. When I arrived here last week and saw the draw, I couldn't imagine this would've happened... You learn from every loss. I'd lost to [Martina] twice and so I knew what I had to do to beat her, and today I was able to actually do it." WTA story Martina said: "It was a good match. I knew in the 2nd set if I wasn't more aggressive, [Dinara] would've blown me away in two sets. I played better in the third set and had chances when she served 5-5; I had two break points and she served well. I also had opportunities early in the third. She's amazing, fighting so hard for every point. "Dinara has an amazing future, and will be even better than Marat; Dinara has to work harder and doesn't have as much touch, but she fights so hard." tennis.quickfound.net Gold Coast tourney page |
 Dinara explaining
why Martina is such a good girl |
Next up: Martina will play # 12 Jelena Jankovic, who won the Auckland tourney on Saturday, in the 1st round of the Medibank International in Sydney, probably on Monday.
 Martina on Friday |
(Jan 5, 2007) On Friday at Gold Coast, Australia, in the semifinals of the Australian Women's Hardcourts, 26-year-old top-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis won the unfun way, defeating 29-year-old # 38 Tathiana Garbin from Mestre, Italy, 3-4, retired when Tathiana, who was suffering from a cold or flu bug, could no longer continue due to difficulty breathing. Martina said: "[Tathiana] started really well--that's the best she has ever played against me. I started slowly, just like last night, and I was just starting to get my rhythm when she retired. That's the first time anyone has retired against me while leading." WTA story Tathiana said: "I was disappointed because I'm playing my best tennis. I've been sick for a few days; it started in my 2nd round match and has gotten worse. In practice I had real problems breathing, and didn't know if I could play, but I thought about my match yesterday against Vesnina, and that I felt bad before that too. Today was the worst though and I just couldn't continue." In the Gold Coast final on Saturday, Martina will play 20-year-old 2nd-seeded # 11 Dinara Safina of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco). |
 Martina on Thursday |
5-time Grand Slam tourney champ Martina leads Dinara 2-0 in career matches, and the last time they played was also in a final, at Rome last year, where Martina won her 41st WTA singles title. This time Martina is playing for her 43rd title in her 67th final; Dinara is 4-3 in WTA singles finals. (Jan 4, 2007) On Thursday at Gold Coast, Australia, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Women's Hardcourts, 26-year-old top-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis defeated 27-year-old # 54 Catalina Castano from Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, 6-3, 6-1. Martina said: "When you play such good matches and are on such a high as my last two matches, you often can't stay at that level every match. I didn't start as quickly and she didn't miss early and was doing well in the rallies. I had some trouble with the loopy balls she was hitting - she was smart." WTA story Martina will play 29-year-old # 38 Tathiana Garbin from Mestre, Italy, in a semifinal at 1:30pm local time on Friday. Martina leads Tathiana 4-0 in career matches, and all four wins were in straight sets. But Tathiana is no sure thing: she is best known for defeating 2003, 2005, & 2006 French Open champ Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 2nd round at Roland Garros in 2004, 7-5, 6-4. |
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The winner will face either # 11 Dinara Safina or # 20 Shahar Peer in the Gold Coast final on Saturday. (Jan 2, 2007) On Tuesday at Gold Coast, Australia, in the 2nd round of the Australian Women's Hardcourts, 26-year-old top-seeded # 7 Martina Hingis obliterated 33-year-old # 77 Nicole Pratt of Australia (residence: Orlando, Florida), 6-0, 6-1. Martina said: "I think I came out well prepared, and I knew [Nicole] had the crowd behind her. I knew what to expect from her, even though we've played only once [before]. She's been on tour a long time, but so have I... "I feel very comfortable and confident at this point." Reuters story Martina, who has lost only 3 games in her first 4 sets of the season, will play #54 Catalina Castano of Colombia in a quarterfinal on Thursday. They have played only once before, in the 2nd round of the 2001 French Open, when Martina won, 6-1, 6-0. |
 Martina on Tuesday
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 Martina on Sunday |
(Dec 31, 2006) On Sunday at Gold Coast, Australia (a little south of Brisbane), in the 1st round of the Australian Women's Hardcourts, 26-year-old top-seeded # 7 (and former # 1) Martina Hingis from Trubbach, Switzerland (who has a 2nd home with Rebound Ace court at Wesley Chapel, Florida, home of the Saddlebrook Resort-- but reportedly spent the off-season practicing in Switzerland) crushed, killed and destroyed 26-year-old # 49 Sybille Bammer from Linz, Austria, 6-0, 6-2. Martina said: "[Sybille] had to take a high risk because I wasn't missing... I was very focused and didn't have ups and downs. That was quite surprising after a six week break." Tennis Australia story In the 2nd round on Tuesday or Wednesday, Martina will play either Aussie wild card # 77 Nicole Pratt, or # 1431 Elena Bovina from Moscow, Russia. Nicole will be playing on her home soil; and Elena is not to be trifled with. Elena was ranked # 14 a couple years ago, but injured her right shoulder at the 2005 French Open and was unable to play again until October, 2006. |
 Martina on Wednesday |
(Dec 29, 2006) Martina Hingis confirmed today to the press that she is indeed engaged to ATP player Radek Stepanek, who proposed to her in Prague last month (see below). About her engagement ring, Martina said: "I was surprised when it was spotted right away [in Australia], because in Switzerland I've been walking around for a month and no one's said anything." No date has been set for the wedding. AP story (Dec 27, 2006) Although no official announcement has been made, # 7 (and former # 1) Martina Hingis is reportedly engaged to Czech ATP player Radek Stepanek, who has been her significant male other for some months now. 28-year-old Stepanek, who resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, is currently # 19 in the ATP rankings (career-high # 8), and has won 1 ATP singles title and 12 ATP doubles titles. Martina has been wearing a diamond ring while practicing at Gold Coast, Australia, for next week's Women's Hardcourts (photo shown), and has reportedly told other WTA players that she is indeed engaged. Herald Sun story |
More: Find earlier stories of Martina's career & retirement in the Hingis News Archive
Martina Hingis pages at quickfound.net:
- News and Links (Hingis Home)
- Martina Hingis News Archive
- Martina Hingis Record: 2007 2006 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
- Hingis Interviews Archive
- Martina Hingis 2002 Australian Open Statistics
- Martina Hingis 2001 US Open Statistics
- Martina Hingis Offcourt Photos
- Hingis & Kournikova 2002 Doubles Record
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Find tennis racquets made by: Yonex -- Wilson -- Head -- Prince -- Babolat
Find tennis balls made by: Wilson -- Dunlop -- Penn -- Tretorn -- Slazenger
This page's URL is: http://hingis.quickfound.net