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Hingis beaten in comeback tournament
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-06 06:56

MELBOURNE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Former world number one Martina Hingis' first comeback tournament ended in the semi-finals when she was beaten by fourth seed Flavia Pennetta 1-6 7-6 6-2 at the Australian hardcourt championships on Friday.

hingis
Former world number one hingis reacts during tennis match on Gold Coast. [Reuters]
Hingis, who retired in 2002 with foot and ankle injuries, had showed glimpses of the skills that took her to five grand slam titles during the Gold Coast tournament, but could not overcome the Italian world number 23 despite romping to the first set.

Pennetta will now meet Lucie Safarova in the final after the Czech teenager beat third-seeded Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 in the earlier semi-final.

Safarova had already disposed of sixth seed Ai Sugiyama in the first round and top seed Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals.

Hingis wins third in a row since return

GOLD COAST, Australia: Martina Hingis won her third consecutive match since returning from a three-year retirement, beating Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Australian women's hardcourt championships.

The 25-year-old Hingis, winner of five Grand Slam singles titles, lost her service in the third game of the opening set - her only glitch in a strong opening set in her third match at Royal Pines.

But with the scores level at 4-4 in the second, Llagostera Vives broke Hingis' serve, then held in the next game to send the match to a deciding set.

The players had a 10-minute break before the third set began under the WTA Tour's heat rule. The Extreme Heat policy allows players a rest before the start of a third set if the so-called heat stress index, a combination of the ambient air temperature and court surface temperature, exceeds 28 C (82 F).

The break must have done Hingis good - the Swiss player completely dominated Llagostera Vives from then, although Hingis needed five match points on Llagostera Vives' serve, to close out the match.

Hingis, who won her previous two matches here in straight sets, retired in 2002 following a series of ankle, heel and foot injuries.

"I know I can last three sets now, especially mentally," Hingis said. "That was the biggest weapon I had today. I would have been pretty hard on myself if I had lost this match because I had it totally under control."
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