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Hingis steps closer to French Open victory

Martina Hingis returns a backhand during Saturday's match against Rachel McQuillan Keystone

The world's number one women's tennis player, Switzerland's Martina Hingis, has defeated Australia's Rachel McQuillan in straight sets at the French Open.

Her victory puts her through to the last sixteen, where she will face France’s Sandrine Testud following her win against Russia’s Elena Bovina.

Although Hingis defeated McQuillan 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday, she played poorly in the first set, with the 66th ranked Australian breaking her serve nine times.

Hingis managed to regain control of her serve after rain briefly stopped play. At that point, the score was 3-4 and deuce on the Swiss player’s serve.

“I struggled, but I can’t play every match perfectly”, Hingis said after the match.

In the second set, it was a different story with Hingis regaining her strength and conceding only one game to McQuillan.

Hingis has never won the French Open. She was knocked out in the semi-.finals in 2000 when she lost to France’s Mary Pierce who went on to win the tournament.

swissinfo with agencies

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