The prosecutor who put Martina Hingis' stalker behind bars said this week that he started dating the tennis star only days after the trial was over. But Dubravko Rajcevic's lawyer says he suspects the two may have been secretly dating beforehand, jeopardizing his client's chances for a fair trial.

Rajcevic, a Croatian-born naval architect from Australia who followed Hingis, 20, around the world for years, bombarding her with love letters and flowers, has appealed to Judge Kevin Emas to have his conviction overturned.

Emas ordered prosecutor Christopher Calkin to give a deposition about his romance with the Swiss tennis star. The prosecutor explained Wednesday that he and Hingis went on a date and began a "physical relationship" on April 14, two days after Rajcevic, 46, was sentenced to two years in jail for stalking.

But Rajcevic lawyer Frank Abram thinks it unlikely that Calkin and Hingis started dating only after the trial.

"How easy would it be to get a date with the number one tennis player in the world, much less wind up in bed with her, less than 48 hours after the case ends?" said Abram.

Emas is considering other evidence in the case, including phone records of calls made between the prosecutor and the tennis star during the trial, and has scheduled a hearing on October 5 to hear evidence and arguments.

Calkin's two lawyers from the state prosecutor's office are staunchly opposed to granting Rajcevic a new trial.

"We don't even believe an evidentiary hearing is necessary. We believe that he was not injured in any way," said prosecutor Penny Brill.

Abrams says Emas doesn't have to identify a specific injury to his client. He thinks the judge could order a new trial simply to erase the appearance of impropriety, but Brill disagrees.

"[That argument] is not supported by any law. The law requires an injury to be shown," she claims.

Rajcevic was convicted of misdemeanor stalking and criminal trespass in connection with his actions at the 2000 Ericcson Open in Miami.

"I think the obsession and love for me might turn into hate and aggressiveness towards me and that's what I am scared of," Hingis testified.

Although Hingis' testimony was the highlight of the trial, the proceedings' most bizarre and entertaining moments came when Rajcevic took the stand in his own defense. In addition to explaining his feelings for Hingis, Rajcevic made odd jokes, referred to Emas as "Mr. Judge" and once told Calkin that he loved him.

Although Rajcevic has not been found clinically insane, several experts have agreed that he suffers from delusions and other mental problems.

Prosecutors offered him a plea bargain before the trial that would not have involved any jail time but Rajcevic, believing that he did not commit a crime and determined to express his love to Hingis, chose to stand trial instead.