Swisscom Challenge: Hingis last Swiss standing

Martina Hingis begins her bid to win her first ever major Swiss title on Tuesday when she takes on Australian teenager Jelena Dokic in the second round of the Swisscom Challenge in Kloten.

Hingis is the only Swiss player left in the competition following the disappointing exits of both Patty Schnyder and Emmanuelle Gagliardi on the tournament’s first full day.

Schnyder was knocked out in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 1-6) by Russian qualifier Anastasia Myskina, while Gagliardi missed out on a showdown with Hingis after crashing out in straight sets (6-3, 6-0) to Dokic.

After eliminating one local hero Dokic now has her sights set on the more daunting prospect of playing Hingis. But unlikely the majority of players on the tour, the young Australian knows that she is capable of an upset having beaten the world number one once already, and in dramatic fashion.

Dokic was the player who famously knocked Hingis out in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon tournament. It was only the third time in the Open era that a Grand Slam women’s top seed had been defeated in the first round.

Tuesday’s reunion will be the first time the players have met outside of a Grand Slam tournament. Hingis won their only previous meeting at the Australian Open, just months before her Wimbledon embarrassment.

After her win against Gagliardi, Dokic admitted that her historic triumph against Hingis would be on her mind going into Tuesday’s rematch. “A lot of time has passed but Wimbledon is still a good memory for me,” Dokic recalled. “I still have nothing to lose so I’m just going to attack and take my chances.”

by Mark Ledsom