adminYALE. — TOP Zimbabwean female tennis player Cara Black and her American partner Vania King swept into the quarter-finals of the doubles competition at the New Haven Open in Connecticut, United States, when they outplayed former world number one Martina Hingis and Daniela Hantuchova in the first round on Tuesday night.
Playing in front of 3 956 fans, Black and King were too good for Switzerland’s Hingis and Hantuchova of Slovakia who they beat in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the final WTA tune-up before next week’s the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Meanwhile, Hingis owned the late 1990s on the tennis court with seven Grand Slam singles titles over a three-year stretch. More than a decade later, the “Swiss Miss” is trying to revive her career on the doubles circuit while questioning if she would ever be ready for the solo grind again.
Her comeback tour, which began last month at the Southern California Open, made a brief pit stop on Tuesday night at the New Haven Open, where she and partner Hantuchova were swept in straight sets by Black and King 6-3, 6-1 in their first match in front of 3 956 fans.
“I wanted to cry,” said Hingis, with a bright white smile. “I think we can play much better than that and we’ve shown it in the last three tournaments. It started off OK and we played pretty solid . . . but then all of a sudden instead of 5-2 it’s like 3-4 and it all turned around there.”
After being up 3-1 in the first set, Team Hingis won only one more game the rest of the match, but the former teen sensation still stopped to sign autographs and left Stadium Court to a sea of cheers.
“It’s great to have Martina back, she’s really great for tennis,” Zimbabwean Black said.
The tennis world will at least get to see more of Hingis next week at the US Open as a doubles act with Hantuchova. — AFP.
Online Reporter