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Hingis advances at Australian Open
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-21 13:33
Martina Hingis took another step in her Grand Slam comeback with a 6-4, 6-1
win over Iveta Benesova before stifling heat forced play indoors Saturday at the
Australian Open.
Martina Hingis of
Switzerland punches the air in jubilation after she won the match against
Iveta Benesova of Czech Republic at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament
in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan 21, 2006. Hingis won 6-4, 6-1.
[AP] |
Hingis, the former No. 1 player in the world, advanced to the fourth round.
After a three-year retirement because of foot and heel problems, she flashed the
form that carried her to six consecutive finals at Melbourne Park.
Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo was leading Michaella Krajicek 6-2 in the
following match when the 17-year-old Dutch player withdrew because of heat
stress.
Krajicek, with icebags around her neck, had her temperature and pulse taken
by trainers before telling the umpire: "I can't play."
"I felt like I was going to throw up," Krajicek said later. "I couldn't even
see the ball because my eyes were burning."
Mauresmo said although the heat policy was enacted during their match,
suspending play on outside courts, she had not noticed Krajicek struggling until
the end.
"She seemed to have trouble with the heat, which I can understand," Mauresmo
said.
The roof over Rod Laver Arena was closed before the later men's match between
Tommy Haas and Australia's Peter Luczak.
Matches on outside courts were suspended when the temperature hit 95 degrees
just before 1 p.m. local time.
That was too late for the third-round matches already underway, which had to
continue.
Two Frenchmen advanced from those: No. 25 Sebastien Grosjean took almost
three hours to upset No. 6 Guillermo Coria 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Paul-Henri
Mathieu beat Peru's Luis Horna 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-1.
No. 12 Dominik Hrbaty beat Igor Andreev 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in 3 hours,
31 minutes.
Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, who ousted No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt in the second
round, defeated Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Chela appeared to be struggling in the third set, shuffling slowly around the
court and frequently toweling off between points.
After Vliegen sent a service return long on match point, Chela pumped his
fist, hit a ball to his fans and tossed a soaked towel into the stands.
Argentine fans who brought national flags to Show Court 2 draped them over
their heads and legs to protect themselves from the sun.
Only a handful of matches continued at two indoor arenas as the temperature
exceeded 104 at 3 p.m., with on-court heat much hotter.
In one of those, women's No. 7 Patty Schnyder beat Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-2,
6-3.
The weather was hot enough Friday afternoon for organizers to enforce the
extreme heat policy and wet enough in the evening to postpone five matches.
Organizers will be pressed to quickly make up time, with temperatures that
could exceed 106 degrees on Sunday.
Virtually every square inch of shade was occupied around Melbourne Park, and
people created their own with hundreds of umbrellas.
In earlier matches, 2004 French Open winner Anastasia Myskina beat Sweden's
Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-1. Nicole Vaidisova beat Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-2 and
will meet Mauresmo in the next round.
Playing as a wild card and ranked No. 349, Hingis overwhelmed Benesova with
forehand and backhand winners, mixing heavy ground strokes with clever slice and
drop shots and even firing three aces.
Hingis won the first of her three consecutive Australian Open titles in 1997.
She lost finals from 2000-02 and quit the tour later that season. She returned
on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
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