Hingis in stellar performance in Rome
Martina Hingis looked in vintage form Monday at the Internazionali d’Italia.
Continuing her comeback from a three-year retirement, Hingis routed Italian qualifier Sara Errani, 6-0 6-1, in a first-round match at the French Open warm-up event.
The winner here in 1998, Hingis next will face 12th-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova, who rallied past Emma Laine of Finland, 5-7 6-1 6-3.
Ninth-seeded American Venus Williams beat qualifier Zuzana Ondraskova, 6-3 6-2, to set up a second-round match with another Czech player, Lucia Safarova.
Also victorious was 10th seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia, but the 2004 French Open champion had to sweat out a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) victory over qualifier Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
The first seed to be upset was No. 14 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, who fell to Serbia & Montenegro’s Jelena Jankovic, 6-4 6-3.
On Sunday, Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova both withdrew from the €1.34m clay court event.
The world’s top-ranked player and the two-time defending champion, Mauresmo - a semi-finalist this past week in Berlin – is suffering from a cold and fever.
Sharapova has yet to play a claycourt match this season after suffering a right ankle bone bruise in practice.
The event still boasts five of the world’s top 10 players, including No. 2 Kim Clijsters, the 2003 champion, and Russian Nadia Petrova, who surpassed Sharapova for third in the rankings Monday after winning at Berlin.
