I was going to post the same thing. She beat Sharapova easily. I was hoping this would have been on ESPN, but I didn't see anything in the listings.
Anyway, makes things more interesting on the women's tour.
RayChuang
02-04-06, 10:24 PM
What I find interesting is that Martina Hingis returns just as the Williams sisters are waning in dominance of the women's tennis tour. We could see a return to less emphasis on the power serve game on the women's side for a change. :up:
Sweet Baby James
02-05-06, 01:37 AM
Not quite all the way back. Dementieva kicked her ass in the finals, 6-2/6-0. However, her play has been encouraging so far and it should be interesting to see what she can do on the slower surface at the French Open.:)
criptik28
02-05-06, 12:30 PM
Good to see her doing well on her comeback, a la Jennifer Capriati.
Red Dog
02-05-06, 01:28 PM
What I find interesting is that Martina Hingis returns just as the Williams sisters are waning in dominance of the women's tennis tour. We could see a return to less emphasis on the power serve game on the women's side for a change. :up:
Yep, this is a good thing.
shizawn
02-05-06, 01:48 PM
Yep, this is a good thing.
Agreed. It might even get me watching women's tennis again.
Lara Means
02-05-06, 03:06 PM
Glad she's back since she's hot.
lemieux66c
02-05-06, 05:42 PM
Good to see her back...now all we need is Kournikova to come back from retirement.
ROME -- Martina Hingis beat 16th-seeded Dinara Safina 6-2, 7-5 Sunday for her first title since coming out of retirement.
Hingis spent nearly three years out of the game with foot and ankle injuries, but returned in January. This was the 41st title of her career, but first since winning in Tokyo more than four years ago.
After winning the first set in 27 minutes and taking a 4-1 lead in the second, Hingis appeared nervous while trying to close out the match. When Safina's backhand return of serve sailed long on Hingis' fourth match point, the Swiss player placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath of relief.
The victory should boost Hingis going into the French Open, which starts May 28. The Italian Open is a key clay-court tuneup for Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam that Hingis hasn't won.
Hingis is expected to return to the top 15 in the rankings Monday.
Safina appeared tired from her 2-hour, 33-minute win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday's semifinals and Hingis was in good form from the start.
The former top-ranked player broke Safina's serve in the opening game by hitting a sharply angled shot to Safina's backhand that the Russian -- stretched far off the court -- hit into the net post.
Hingis went on to take a 5-0 lead in the first set and made only four unforced errors. She won a series of points by picking on Safina's weak backhand.
To the crowd's delight, Safina managed to win two games, but Hingis promptly closed out the set when Safina missed another backhand.
Hingis also took a big lead in the second set, but Safina came back with a break in the sixth game and saved two match points with Hingis up 5-3. Safina hit an ace on the first match point and a service winner on the second.
Safina, the younger sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, broke again to even the set at 5-5, but Hingis then came up with another break and served out the match on her second try.
Hingis also won the Italian Open in 1998, beating Venus Williams in the final.
Buy: