Hingis through to third round of French Open

World number one, Martina Hingis, defeats Germany's Julia Abe in straight sets at the French Open Keystone

The world number one, Switzerland's Martina Hingis is through to the third round of the French Open after she defeated Germany's Julia Abe in straight sets.

Hingis needed just two sets to win her second round match against Julia Abe. But the German made sure the Swiss star had to earn her victory.

Hingis won the first set 6-4, but throughout the second struggled to master the match, eventually taking it in a tie-break.

In the men’s game, Switzerland’s Marc Rosset was knocked out in a stunning defeat in his second round match against the Ukranian, Andrei Medvedev. Rosset struggled through the match, losing the first set 6-1. He managed to win two games in each of the following sets, but the outcome of the match was never in doubt.

His Swiss compatriot, Emmanuelle Gagliardi, also had a terrible day – she only managed to win one game in her two-set match against the American, Monica Seles.

Looking ahead, there’s an all-Swiss clash in the third round between Roger Federer and the rising star Michel Kratochvil. Kratochvil has already won five matches in order to get this far.

swissinfo with agencies