Hingis Talks Trash, Lines Up Davenport in IWView Comments (58) | View Discussions
Posted on March 13, 2006
 Martina Hingis has played only six full tournaments thus far in her 2006 comeback, two of them first-round losses, but the results are enough to vault her to No. 32 on the WTA Tour Rankings, and No. 5 on the 2006-only "race" standings.
Hingis says the women's tour, sans the brutal bashing of the Williams sisters which contributed to her early exit from the game, hasn't made a lot of progress in her absence.
"If all the girls were able to play like the Williamses, I would not have asked myself if I could play again, but they aren't," Hingis told reporters this week in Indian Wells. "The girls' game has not taken such a big jump forward. Most girls don't have time (to prepare) on the court. And there are a lot of technical deficiencies."
While gangly bashers like Maria Sharapova and Nicole Vaidisova have had success in her absence, Hingis says most players in the topspin-bashing-only vein have their problems.
"A lot of them are big and strong, but they don't know how to move," Hingis said. "If you hit two different shots in succession, they lose their timing and rhythm. They don't know how to deal with slice. And on the courts today, which are mostly slow, they can't shoot me away."
The No. 19 seed in Indian Wells this week, Hingis' next test will come Tuesday in a meeting with another big and strong poor-mover, No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport, who she trails 10-14 in their 24 career meetings.
Top Seeds Advance; Ginepri, Gonzo Out at Indian Wells
World No. 1 Roger Federer (d. Massu), No. 2 Rafael Nadal (d. Hernych), No. 3 Andy Roddick (d. Acasuso, bagel in the second set), No. 8 Andre Agassi (d. American countryman Goldstein in three), and unseeded Marat Safin (d. (28) Moya from a set down) led the marquee top seeds Sunday with wins to advance in the early rounds at the Masters Series-Indian Wells.
Federer said he knew he was in for a difficult time against Massu, who has beaten him before on hardcourts.
"I knew beforehand it was going to be a tough match because he's been playing well," Federer told reporters. "He won the Olympics on a surface like this. I wasn't too pleased when I saw the draw because he beat me one time before. I know he's a tough competitor and I'm happy to be through. I'm always worried about crashing out in the early rounds and (having) to sit here and explain why."
Nadal survived an uncomfortable early-day encounter with swirling winds in his debut match after an opening-round bye.
"The first match always is very difficult," the 19-year-old Nadal told reporters after besting Hernych. "Very difficult to play like this, I didn't feel good...It's windy and the wind is not going to the right, to the left, in front, the wind goes like this (making circular motion) and it's very difficult to play."
Agassi was at his diva-like best upon being tested by Goldstein, smashing his racquet in aggravation in his inability to take the upper hand in rallies, and demanding play be stopped when rain sprinkles began in the third set, with the chair umpire refusing.
"I have a hard time playing on hardcourt when it's drizzling," Agassi told reporters. "I was just asking if we could wait just a few minutes. Then they stopped (after Goldstein fell) and we waited until the rain stopped, and then it was a lot easier to concentrate."
At one point Goldstein won six straight games but played tentatively with his lead.
"There were just a handful of shots I wish I had back now," the 29-year-old Goldstein told reporters. "I need to play more carefree. I need to hit some of those what-the-heck shots."
Other seeded victors Sunday were (4) David Nalbandian (d. (Q) Gimelstob), (5) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Murray in three), (6) Ivan Ljubicic (d. (Q) Tipsarevic), (7) Gaston Gaudio (d. Saulnier in three), (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Spadea 7-6 in the third), (16) Richard Gasquet (d. (Q) K.Kim), (17) Tommy Robredo (d. Carlsen), (19) Dominik Hrbaty (d. Bracciali), (22) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Mayer), (24) Igor Andreev (d. Russian countryman Tursunov from a set down), (25) Marcos Baghdatis (d. Bjorkman), (26) Tommy Haas (d. Clement in three), (27) Gael Monfils (d. (Q) Morrison in three), (30) Olivier Rochus (d. Wawrinka), and (32) Fernando Verdasco (d. Karlovic 7-6 in the third).
"He's one of those players who that will be around the top for a long time because he doesn't give away any cheap points," Murray told reporters, again going to the 'I'm only 18'-card after being outlasted by Davydenko. "I gave 100 percent, and I think that's all you can ask for. I said the other day, I'm not going to play consistently my best every week because I'm too young, but I fought pretty hard."
Orchestrating upsets on the day were German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who continued the 2006 misery of (10) David Ferrer with an easy 2-and-2 dismissal; hot-handed Swede Robin Soderling dismissing (13) Fernando Gonzalez with a second-set bagel; Thai Paradorn Srichaphan extending (18) Robby Ginepri's personal nightmare-of-a-slide in straight sets; and American wildcard Mardy Fish continuing his comeback from multiple wrist surgeries to oust (31) Filippo Volandri in straight sets.
Winners in all-unseeded match-ups were Frenchmen (Q) Julien Benneteau (d. Chela in three) and Paul-Henri Mathieu (d. Seppi 6-1 in the third), German Rainer Schuettler (d. Pashanski), Xavier "X-Man" Malisse (d. Santoro in three), and Belgian Kristof Vliegen (d. (Q) Burgsmuller in three).
Some titanic matches are on tap for Monday in (9) Hewitt vs. the former Top 10er Schuettler, (3) Roddick vs. (32) Verdasco who beat the American in their last meeting, (8) Agassi vs. (26) Haas, (23) Berdych vs. Henman, (4) Nalbandian vs. (Q) Benneteau, Safin vs. (5) Davydenko in an all-Russian rematch from last week, (17) Robredo vs. (12) Blake, Srichaphan vs. (14) Ferrero, Vliegen vs. (20) Grosjean, (11) Kiefer vs. Mathieu, Sanguinetti vs. (21) Ancic, Soderling vs. Andreev, (15) Stepanek vs. X-Man, and Kohlschreiber vs. (22) Nieminen.
Favorites Henin, Davenport, Hingis Roll at Indian Wells
Top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. Pironkova), No. 2 Lindsay Davenport (d. American country Granville, bagel in the second), No. 3 Maria Sharapova (d. Raymond, bagel in the second), and (19) Martina Hingis (d. Bammer, bagel in the first) were marquis players leading the easy march of the top seeds through the early rounds Sunday at the WTA stop in Indian Wells, where the warm(er) and sunny weather returned after brutally-cold conditions on Saturday.
"I was very focused on what I had to do," Henin-Hardenne told reporters concerning the blustery winds early in the day. "The conditions were very difficult, but better than what we would have had yesterday."
Other seeded winners into the third round Sunday were (5) Anastasia Myskina (d. (27) Domachowska), (8) Ana Ivanovic (d. Bremond), (10) Dinara Safina (d. (Q) Yuan), (11) Maria Kirilenko (d. Asagoe), (12) Tatiana Golovin (d. Dominguez Lino, bagel in the second), (14) Ai Sugiyama (d. Foretz, bagel in the second), (17) Gisela Dulko (d. Cohen-Aloro), (18) Lucie Safarova (d. (Q) Kirkland from a set down), (20) Marion Bartoli (d. Ani in three), (21) Shahar Peer (d. (LL) Daniilidou from a set down), (22) Anna Chakvetadze (d. Kutuzova), (28) Sania Mirza (d. (Q) Mattek in three), and (29) Anna Smashnova (d. Sucha).
Seeds making exits Sunday were (32) Jill Craybas, ousted by Finland's Emma Laine, and (29) Amy Frazier, upset by American countrywoman Shenay Perry, both in straight sets.
Scheduled for Monday in Indian Wells are Dementieva vs. Mirza, Henin-Hardenne vs. Nakamura, (WC) Perry vs. Ivanovic, Golovin vs. Dulko, Kirilenko vs. Chakvetadze in an all-Russian, Groenefeld vs. Smashnova, Laine vs. Pennetta, Bartoli vs. Ani, Safarova vs. Sugiyama, and N.Li vs. (WC) King.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Who won the hair battle Sunday, Carlos Moya who with the headband looked like he was rocking the '80s-style mullet, or Marat Safin with the samurai bun on top of his head?...How about Brit Tennis Channel announcer John Barret referring to Carlos Moya and Marat Safin as "handsome beasts," and with the camera focusing on fat Peter Lundgren, Safin's coach sitting in the crowd, referring to him as a "fine figure of a man" -- that's good stuff...Andre Agassi on cortisone shots and his current conditioning: "I had one just before San Jose this year. The one before was starting the summer. Not playing over the fall, I never felt my back, because in everyday life it's not an issue. It's only when I sort of put my body through the trauma of all those movements out there on the tennis court. So it's fair to say I almost even forgot about my back and, when I started getting back into the tennis again in January and practicing, I was aware of it to some degree, but, again, it escalated a little quicker than I wanted...It interfered a little bit with my on-court practice. Went to Dubai, had only two days of rain that it gets a year there, and I just -- I never felt comfortable on the court. But my body felt fine. This week has been a little bit better with my game. My body is still hanging in there."...From Matt Cronin writing for Reuters: "Andre Agassi is attempting to put together a consortium to buy Bjorn Borg's five replica Wimbledon trophies. Financially-strapped Swede Borg is planning to auction off the five trophies he won between 1976 and 1980 as well as two signed rackets he used. The sale is due to go ahead on June 21 at Bonham's salerooms in London and the trophies and rackets are collectively expected to bring in between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds ($521,100). "I've discussed it with my own people to find a way of gathering the right people together to buy those trophies and do right by the game to purchase them," Agassi told reporters at the Pacific Life Open."...Winners Sunday at the senior tour Champions Cup-Naples were Mikael Pernfors def. Petr Korda 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-8, John McEnroe def. Aaron Krickstein 6-4, 6-2, Jim Courier def. Michael Chang by walkover (Achilles injury), and Pat Cash def. Mats Wilander 7-5, 6-1. Courier will face Cash in the championship match Monday evening, with The Tennis Channel broadcasting the third-place match between Pernfors and McEnroe, and the championship match between Courier and Cash on tape delay on Tuesday at 8pm (EST)...More from Andre Agassi on the Bjorn Borg trophy debacle: "I think it would be amazing for the fans of tennis to be able to see them. But first things come first. I'd like to see the sport come together to figure out a way to make sure they don't get into the wrong hands." -- Wrong hands? Are these trophies or nuclear weapons? Is John McEnroe going to buy them and replace the toilets in his house?...Andy Roddick on his new buzz cut in Indian Wells: "(Laughing) there is no reason for the haircut. I was sitting around at about 11:30 at night last week with some friends. We had clippers, so we got rid of it. Good thing about hair, is it grows back."...U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe may miss the April tie against Chile as his wife and he are expecting their first child around April 17th.
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