Hingis through to third round at Indian Wells

Martina Hingis returns to Kveta Hrdlikova during their second-round tie in Indian Wells Keystone

Switzerland's Martina Hingis is through to the third round of the two million dollar Masters Series tennis tournament at Indian Wells after posting a straight sets victory over the Czech Republic's Kveta Hrdlikova.

The world number one had an unexpectedly tough time against her opponent in the first round, before eventually edging ahead 7-5.

“If she played like that all the time,” said the 20-year-old Swiss afterwards, “she’d be in the top 10 or top 20, but she’s not.”

Hingis proved her point in the second set, winning every game to complete a 7-5, 6-0 victory. She will now face Russia’s Tatiana Panova in the third round.

After her match against Hrdlikova, Hingis confirmed that she would not play any more doubles matches for the moment, in order to conserve her energy for singles contests.

“I’ll have more time to practise, and more time to recover,” said the Swiss star, who has won 34 doubles titles during her career to date.

Swiss number two Patty Schnyder, meanwhile, still has plenty of work to do on her singles game, after suffering an early exit at the Californian event.

Playing for the first time under the guidance of new coach Eric van Harpen, Schnyder crashed out in straight sets (4-6, 5-7) to Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, a player more than 50 places lower than Schnyder in the world rankings.

The 22-year-old from Basel has now been lost her opening match at the last four tournaments in which she has competed.

swissinfo with agencies