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 Hingis makes successful return Swiss Miss beats Rubin in first match since Wimbledon
Posted: Tuesday August 03, 1999 10:06 PM
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- It's been a long time coming, but Martina Hingis finally won again. After a summer of turmoil, Hingis rebounded from two painful losses in recent months with a tough 7-5, 6-3 victory Tuesday over Chanda Rubin in the $520,000 TIG Classic. There was great sense of relief afterward for the second-ranked Hingis. "It was very important for me to get the confidence back," Hingis said. "Maybe it wasn't the greatest match but I won at the end." The only seeded player to fall Tuesday was No. 8 Nathalie Tauziat of France, a 6-3, 6-1 loser to qualifier Anke Huber of Germany. In other first-round matches, sixth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain beat Russia's Elena Likhovtsena 6-2, 1-6, 6-4; No. 7 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa defeated Lisa Raymond 6-7 (1-7) 6-1, 6-1; and unseeded Anna Kournikova of Russia was a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) winner over Meilen Tu. By most standards, Hingis' season has been a success. But for the five-time Grand Slam champion, 1999 has been a disappointment. Although she won the year's first Grand Slam at Australia, and added three more titles, her season took a decided downward turn in the French Open. Hingis' meltdown in a three-set loss to Steffi Graf in the finals brought out her detractors. The Swiss teenager then traveled to Wimbledon without her mother and coach, Melanie Monitor, and was promptly eliminated 6-2, 6-0 in the first round by qualifier Jelena Dokic. "I was in bad shape," Hingis admitted. "I don't know what was going on there, not much." Hingis has not played since until returning here to begin preparation for the U.S. Open. She used the time off for a much-needed vacation and four weeks of intense training in Tampa, Fla. "Everything wasn't great but I'm working on it," Hingis, 19, said. "The last four weeks, they've passed so quickly and I feel good again." Rubin came into the match with a 2-1 career record against Hingis, winning their most recent outing at Indian Wells in March. The hard-hitting American gave Hingis fits in the first set before Hingis scored service breaks to take leads of 5-4 and 6-5 and finally served out the set. Although Hingis' game showed signs of rust, Rubin was erratic in the second set and was unable to stay with Hingis. "It was very important for me," Hingis said. "I could see where I'm standing." Sanchez-Vicario, a three-time finalist here, cruised through the first set before Likhovtseva rolled through the second set. Sanchez-Vicario came through with numerous key shots in the decisive final set. "It was going to be a tough match," Sanchez-Vicario, 27, said. "In the third set, it could go either way. But I finally made the shots. That gives me a lot of confidence."
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