Youth Is Served: Hingis Set to Play at La Costa

Local tennis fans will get their first up-close-and-personal look at the latest teen-age star when Martina Hingis appears at her first Southern California tournament, the $450,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic at La Costa.

Hingis, 16, has had the dominating kind of year once turned in by the likes of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova. With her straight-set victory against Conchita Martinez on Sunday in the final at Palo Alto, Hingis is 50-1 in 1997. That includes championships at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. At Wimbledon, Hingis beat Jana Novotna in a three-set final.

Her lone loss was to Iva Majoli in the French Open final. Majoli is not entered at La Costa.

Hingis’ rise has been swift. In October 1996, she moved into the top 10 for the first time, climbed to No. 4 by the season-ending tour championships and reached No. 1 in the spring.

The other top-seeded players, from second to eight, are Seles, Amanda Coetzer, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Anke Huber, Mary Pierce, Martinez and Irina Spirlea. Seles gained entry into the event last week when Jennifer Capriati withdrew because of a sprained ankle.

Hingis is not scheduled to play until Wednesday night, according to tournament officials. Among the top matches today, eighth-seeded Spirlea plays Elena Likhovtseva. In a qualifying match, teenager Venus Williams plays Sandra Cacic.

In 1996, Kimiko Date beat Sanchez Vicario, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, in the La Costa final.

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Toshiba Classic

TODAY’S FEATURED MATCHES

STADIUM COURT

Beginning 11 a.m.

* No. 8 Irina Spirlea vs. Elena Likhovtseva

* Venus Williams vs. Sandra Cacic

Beginning at 7 p.m.

* Helena Sukova vs. Chanda Rubin

* Natasha Zvereva vs. Kimberly Po

THE DRAW

SEEDED PLAYERS

No. 1 Martina Hingis

No. 2 Monica Seles

No. 3 Amanda Coetzer

No. 4 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

No. 5 Anke Huber

No. 6 Mary Pierce

No. 7 Conchita Martinez

No. 8 Spirlea

OTHERS

Florencia Labar, Helena Sukova, Chanda Rubin, Lisa Raymond, Asa Carlsson, Sandrine Testud, Nathalie Tauziat, Amy Frazier, Magdalena Maleeva, Yayuk Basuki, Anne-Gaelle Sidot, Elena Likhovtseva, Natasha Zvereva, Kimberly Po, Ai Sugiayama, Alexandra Stevenson.