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Hingis battles Dokic Tuesday at Swisscom Challenge
Tuesday, Oct 10 12:26:00 PT

By ERICA BULMAN - Associated Press Writer

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- World No. 1 Martina Hingis beat Jelena Dokic 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Swisscom Challenge Tuesday, avenging a Wimbledon loss to the Australian in their previous meeting.

The match lasted only 51 minutes, as Hingis overcame memories of her 1999 first-round Wimbledon defeat to Dokic, then ranked 129th in the world, in what was considered the biggest upset in Open era history.

``It was good it didn't happen again today,'' said Hingis, fresh from singles and doubles triumphs at Filderstadt on Sunday. ``I was a bit more nervous playing her than against some of the other players.

``I felt confident to play my game and thought nothing should stop me.''

It was the first time the two met outside a Grand Slam, Hingis having defeated Dokic in straight sets at the Australian Open prior to her Wimbledon defeat.

Hingis broke Dokic in the opening set to go up 3-1. The two traded breaks early in the second set, but Hingis broke again for a 3-2 lead and again to lead 5-2.

Dokic, who lost the Olympic bronze medal match to Monica Seles and reached the quarterfinals at Tokyo last week before losing to Serena Williams, was no match for Hingis, whose scorching serve resulted in six aces.

``I don't think I attacked enough, that was the difference,'' Dokic said. ``I let her stay in the points and you can't do that.

``I should have concentrated more on my own shots than on what she was doing and I could have attacked her second serve more.''

A fresh Hingis, who chose not to play at the Olympics, is still looking for a first career tournament title on home soil, her 32 titles all coming outside Switzerland.

In another first-round match, Jennifer Capriati defeated wildcard Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6). Afterward, Capriati refused to shake hands with her 16-year-old opponent, accusing her of unsportsmanlike tactics.

``I've been playing 10 years and never thought I would ever do anything like that,'' said Capriati, who won her ninth career tournament title at Luxembourg two weeks ago. ``Until now, someone has never driven me to that point. Her behavior on the court was unprofessional.

``I have shoulder problems and she would keep saying, 'Come on, go,' even after the points ... It was disrespectful on her part. Then she was stalling on my serve and the umpire thought I was right and gave her warnings.''

Capriati started strongly, breaking Krasnoroutskaya twice for a 4-1 lead. But the Russian rallied, winning the next seven of eight games to take the first set and lead the second 1-0.

But Capriati fought back, breaking to go up 3-2, then again to close out the set.

In a roller coaster final set, the Russian broke Capriati twice and took a 4-1 lead. But Capriati rallied, beginning a back-and-forth struggle which saw the two exchange breaks five times in a row, sending the decisive set into a tie-break.

Capriati prevailed when Krasnoroutskaya squandered four match points.

In other matches, Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva defeated Dominique Van Roost of Belgium 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (4), and Austrian Barbara Schett beat Russia's Elena Likhovtseva 6-0, 6-1.


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