Martina Hingis has quickly quieted her doubters.
The former world No. 1, coming back from a three-year retirement, ripped through her third consecutive opponent yesterday to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on a day that the heat was some players' worst opponent.
As good as Hingis was, fellow Swiss Roger Federer was virtually untouchable in beating 30th-seeded Max Mirnyi, who played well enough to beat most players but still was blitzed 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
PHOTO: AFP
Top-ranked Federer had 48 winners, committed only 10 unforced errors -- just one in the second set -- and dropped only 13 points in 14 service games.
Seeking his seventh Grand Slam title and second here, he withstood Mirnyi's blistering first serves, which reached 220kmph, breaking him four times. With Mirnyi serving at 3-5 in the third set, Federer finished it off on his third match point with a forehand service return winner.
Looking like a big cat looking to pounce at every opportunity, the 1.96m Mirnyi charged the net 102 times. But it only amounted to target practice for the relaxed Federer, who whipped passing shots from both sides with apparent ease.
PHOTO: EPA
There were questions about Hingis' fitness coming into the tournament. But she looked fresh as she took the court for a late-morning match, committing only 12 unforced errors in a 6-4, 6-1 victory in 65 minutes over Iveta Benesova, who suffered as temperatures rose.
"It wasn't as cruel, brutal" as later in the day, Hingis said. "Thank God she felt it more than I did."
Hingis has dropped only 10 games in her three matches, looking almost as dominating as when she won three of her five Grand Slams here.
PHOTO: AFP
"I don't think I played my best tennis today," she said. "But as long as you win, it's always good. Always room to improve for the next match."
That will be against unseeded Australian Samantha Stosur, with a possible quarterfinal match looming against second-seeded Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters had a 6-1, 6-2 win over Italian Roberta Vinci in 44 minutes, showing no obvious signs of the hip and back problems that have been bothering her.
For the second consecutive day, the tournament invoked the extreme heat policy that calls for play to be suspended on outside courts after matches already under way were completed. The roofs were closed on Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena.
Temperatures exceeded 40?C -- and were perhaps 10 degrees higher on court. Today's forecast calls for even hotter conditions before a cooler change next week.
Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo was leading Michaella Krajicek 6-2 when the 17-year-old Dutch player withdrew because of heat stress.
"I felt like I was going to throw up ... I couldn't even see the ball because my eyes were burning," Krajicek said after having an ice bath to cool down.
One player who wasn't complaining was 12th-seeded Dominik Hrbaty. Known for his fitness, he won his third consecutive five-set match, rallying from an 0-3 deficit in the fifth against No. 23 Igor Andreev of Russia.
"I was tired already going to the match," he said. "If we would play inside, I think I wouldn't win with Andreev. I think it's more mental, how much you will be able to push yourself."
Hrbaty, who already has spent 10 1/2 hours on court in singles, later lost a three-set men's doubles match. He next faces fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who ousted the last Australian men's hope Nathan Healey.
Also advancing were No. 25 Sebastien Grosjean, who needed almost three hours to upset No. 6 Guillermo Coria, No. 21 Nicolas Kiefer, Tommy Haas, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, who ousted No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.
Advancing on the women's side were No. 7 Patty Schnyder, No. 12 Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion, No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 15 Francesca Schiavone, who scored the tournament's first double-bagel (6-0, 6-0) against Maria Sanchez Lorenzo in just 42 minutes.
Playing as a wild card and ranked No. 349, Hingis overwhelmed Benesova by mixing heavy ground strokes with clever slice and angled drop shots.
Hingis won the first of her three consecutive Australian Open titles in 1997. The 25-year-old Swiss star lost finals from 2000-2002 and quit the tour later that season. She returned on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
With every win comes increasing expectations.
"Coming into this tournament, I was like, `OK, tough first round, see if I survive that one first,'" she said. "But one by one ... expectations definitely grow. With every match I'm getting more confidence."
Benesova, who said she felt dizzy from the heat in the second set, praised Hingis' savvy.
"She made me feel so uncomfortable because she's very clever; very smart player," Benesova said. "She knows exactly where to put the ball. It's like I had no rhythm."
"It's really amazing, after three years, not playing a match, and she's really mentally strong. She believes in her game. She knows what to do out there."
Anastasia Myskina spent a good part of 2005 worrying about her tennis on the court and her mother off it. The signs are encouraging that this year will be better.
The 24-year-old Russian won her third-round match at the Australian Open on Saturday, defeating Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 6-1. Now ranked 14th -- the first time she's finished out of the top 10 in three years -- Myskina will take on Patty Schnyder in the fourth round Monday.
Myskina also advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, but after that, her first half of the season deteriorated and she won consecutive matches just three times in her first 10 events.
The 10th was a first-round loss at the French Open, becoming the first defending champion to go out that early.
During that time -- and few people knew -- her mother, Galina, was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Other distractions involved a lawsuit seeking US$8 million in damages from a photographer. In July, she lost a court case in New York when a judge ruled that she could not stop the photographer distributing topless pictures taken of her during a 2002 magazine photo shoot.
Myskina managed to turn her season around, however, making the quarterfinals or better at nine of the last 10 tournament she played last year, including her 10th career WTA title at Calcutta, India.
Then she rewarded herself by taking November off and spending time at home in Moscow.
"The break was more than a month, no nothing, no gym, no tennis," Myskina said. "Just sleep, eat. I feel great."
"I started practicing in December. I also spent New Year at home. I think that helped a lot because I spent a lot of time with my family and it gave me lots of energy."
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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