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TOKYO, Feb 1: Four-time champion Martina Hingis made a perfect return to the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Wednesday, overwhelming Cho Yoon-Jeong of South Korea in just 35 minutes.
The Swiss wild card entrant — the winner here in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002 — did not surrender a single game in her first round win, defeating the South Korean, 6-0, 6-0.
Hingis stormed back into the tennis world after a three-year layoff by reaching the singles quarter-finals and winning the mixed doubles title with India’s Mahesh Bhupathi at the Australian Open.
Second seed Elena Dementieva of Russia became the first player to reach the quarterfinals when she defeated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5.
In the quarterfinals, the Sydney Olympic silver medallist will take on fifth seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who defeated Japan’s Saori Obata, 6-4, 6-4.
Vaidisova hailed the return of the Swiss Miss to competitive tennis, saying: “Definitely she was one of the girls I watched when I was a girl. It’s definitely exciting to see her on the tour.”
In other first round action, Lisa Raymond earned a second-round meeting against defending champion Maria Sharapova by beating fellow American Meilen Tu 6-1, 6-3.
Australia’s Samantha Stosur won 6-1, 6-3 over Japan’s Aiko Nakamura, while Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic defeated China’s Jie Zheng 7-5, 7-6 (7/2).
Elena Likhovtseva of Russia defeated Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe 6-3, 6-2.
First round results: Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 6-1, 6-3; Lisa Raymond (USA) bt Meilen Tu (USA) 6-1, 6-3; Klara Koukalova (CZE) bt Jie Zheng (CHN) 7-5, 7-6 (7/2); Elena Likhovtseva (RUS) bt Shinobu Asagoe (JPN) 6-3, 6-2; Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Cho Yoon-Jeong (KOR) 6-0, 6-0.
Second round: Elena Dementieva (RUS) bt Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5; Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) bt Saori Obata (JPN) 6-4, 6-4.
Lee upsets Ginepri
DELRAY BEACH (Florida): South Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee upset second-seeded American Robby Ginepri 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the second round of this 380,000-dollar ATP hardcourt tournament.
The defeat dropped Ginepri to 1-3 in 2006, a disappointing start to a season in which he had hoped to build on his run to the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
Ginepri looked to be in control after taking the first set, but Lee rallied to win the second set 6-2, and broke the American in the seventh game of the third set and held serve to win.
There were victories for third-seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse and No. 4 Tommy Haas of Germany.
Malisse routed Armenian wild card Sargis Sargsian 6-2, 6-2 to advance to a meeting with US veteran Justin Gimelstob.
Haas, who arrived in Florida off a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open - where he pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to five sets - beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Haas next faces Romanian Andrei Pavel, a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) winner over France’s Olivier Patience.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller was the only other seed in action, downing Swedish qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
First round results: Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR) bt Robby Ginepri (USA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; Xavier Malisse (BEL) bt Sargis Sargsian (ARM) 6-2, 6-2; Tommy Haas (GER) bt Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2; Gilles Muller (LUX) bt Bjorn Rehnquist (SWE) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4; Ramon Delgado (PAR) bt Bobby Reynolds (USA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Jeff Salzenstein (USA) bt Razvan Sabau (ROM) 7-5, 7-6 (7/5); Robert Kendrick (USA) bt Kevin Kim (USA) 6-4, 7-5; Andrei Pavel (ROM) bt Olivier Patience (FRA) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).—AFP
