Martina Hingis makes a strong comeback at Mondial Australian Women’s Hardcourts

In an interview after the match, Hingis rated her play an 8 out of 10. "At times, even better," the veteran player said.

Due to foot and ankle problems, Hingis had not played on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since October 2002, apart from a one-off appearance at Pattaya City, Thailand last February (falling in the first round to Marlene Weingärtner).

Hingis’ next scheduled match was Wednesday against seventh seed Klara Koukalova of Czech Republic. The match took place after The Daniel Island News went to print.

Hingis also won her first doubles match with new partner, 17-year-old Tatiana Golovin of France. The pair upset Athens doubles gold medallist and fourth seeds Tiantian Sun and Ting Li of China, 6-1, 6-4.

The Family Circle Cup, scheduled for April 2006, is a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event. No word yet on whether Hingis will play in the Daniel Island event. She won the tournament at Hilton Head in 1996.

Last Friday, before play commenced, Hingis conducted a press conference at the tournament venue, Royal Pines Resort.

On why she came back:

"I just love to compete; I love a challenge. My body wasn’t healthy at all times; my feet - I had those problems. Now it’s been three years; I’ll see how far my feet will take me. I just love to play the game."

On what motivated her to come back:

"It’s probably a combination of a lot of things. I’ve played some exhibitions, I’ve played some (World) TeamTennis this year, I did the commentary last year and watched the girls and that’s kind of an inspiration. Davenport being No. 1, Pierce having a great year, Mauresmo winning the (Sony Ericsson WTA Tour) Championships, so those are all the girls that I played against."

What she missed while being away:

"Not having the stress, not having to travel week in, week out. But what I hated more was not having a regime. I’d wake up in the morning, and there’d be sometimes you had no reason to wake up, and that’s what I was missing."

On her current physical condition:

"I feel healthy at the moment. We’ll see how far it will take me in a match; you can’t tell exactly in practice. I feel good; I’ve worked physically and I’ve played a lot of tennis over the last six weeks and right now I’m fine. Then we’ll find out during the tournament, playing the matches, day in, day out - that’s a different story."

On how her game compares to what it was three years ago:

"I should be better than that. If I wanted to play the tennis I played three years ago I would not survive, I know that. You have to grow with the game. You have to get better, physically and tennis-wise."

On the attention her comeback is receiving and the expectation to succeed:

"I know that; it’s out there. I’m reminded of it every day, so I know I’m taking a risk but I’m willing to take it. I love a challenge. If I can survive, great; if not, it’s not a drama. There are worse things that could happen to me in life."