Martina Hingis marks her comeback with a win

Davis
Southern California Open Day Three

Swiss tennis ace Martina Hingis who returned to professional tennis in doubles, began her comeback with a win in the Southern California Open. The former World No 1 and her partner Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia who were given a wildcard entry into the event, took just 51 minutes to beat Julia Goerges and Darija Jurak 6-1 6-1 in the first round.

The Swiss, who was the youngest player to win a Grand Slam singles, was very happy to win on her comeback and was all praise about her partner Hantuchova.

“It was awesome to play with Daniela, it had to take her a lot of courage to dig me out of the grave. I was really nervous going into the match, but she was so solid and that gave me so much more confidence,” Hingis said after the win.

Hingis has had a injury ridden career, forcing her to retire from the game in multiple occasions. She was even banned for two years after testing positive for cocaine in 2007 during the Wimbledon, a charge she denies till date, even though she chose not to challenge the allegation.

Hingis and Hantuchova will face American third seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in the second round.Her comeback in doubles raised rumours about her return in the singles. However the BBC reports that Hingis has denied harbouring any such plans.