She didn't specifically mention her mother's illness on Saturday, but referred to the "family reason'' when she spoke about the break.
"Now ... everything is good," she said, referring to her mother's cancer, which is reported to be in remission.
"I'm happy and I'm really enjoying the time that I spent on the court."
LIVING, BREATHING TENNIS
Martina Hingis' invigorating play after three years away from tennis has spread to her time off the court, including scouting the opposition on television.
"I'm watching, I'm eager to see anything I can," Hingis said Saturday after moving into the Australian Open's fourth round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Iveta Benesova.
"I missed it for three years. In the past, I was like `OK, another game, another match, another tournament.' But right now I'm like kind of sucking it up ... turn on the TV, watching tennis."
ALL-FRENCH FOURTH-ROUNDER
Sebastien Grosjean beat sixth-seeded Guillermo Coria 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 at the Australian Open yesterday -- and into an all-French showdown with Paul-Henri Mathieu.
"That's funny,'' said the 25th seeded Grosjean of playing Mathieu, who beat Luis Horna of Peru 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7), 6-1 to also advance.
"I've played all the French [men], but never Paul-Henri," added Grosjean. "It's going to be a little bit strange, but you have to deal with it."
France started the tournament with 13 players in the men's field -- including three seeded players, one wild-card entry and three qualifiers.
Three remain, with Fabrice Santoro scheduled to play 11th-seeded David Ferrer of Spain in the fourth round today.
"It's great to see many, many players ... from France, doing well here," said Grosjean, a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2001.
In the women's singles draw 10 French players started the week, with only third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo through to the fourth round.
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