Hingis Handles the Kid

Venus Williams was right. Her match Wednesday night against Martina Hingis was nothing special.

Just the usual rout for Hingis.

Hingis, ranked No. 1, played as if she had heard Williams say their match would be just like any other. Hingis’ overpowering game did her talking in the 6-2, 6-1 victory.

The match, in front of a sellout crowd at the La Costa Resort, took 50 minutes and pitted two of the tour’s most-watched teenagers.

Hingis, at least, believed the match to be something special.

“I played Venus already once,” Hingis said of her win over Williams in March. “I was very interested. I had heard so much about her and so much was written. Me and Venus, we are players who are going to be there for a while.”

The two are on the vanguard of a wave of young players who threaten to overwhelm the tour with the brashness of their play and their in-your-face approach to the game. Both Hingis and Williams eagerly speak their minds.

Williams, 17, was undismayed by the ease with which her game was dismantled by Hingis, 16. Still, Williams insisted there was little different about the match and had sparse praise for Hingis, who is 51-1 this year.

Although Williams broke Hingis in the first game, her own serve suffered. Williams held serve only once and double-faulted to lose three service games.

What was going wrong with her serve?

“I don’t think the readers of the paper are interested in my serve,” she said. “I think it’s boring.”

She may be correct, but the question was intended to discern if she understood what had happened during the match and what she might have done to correct it. Williams has maintained there is nothing to be gained from analyzing matches.

Wednesday night’s analysis would have been standard stuff in a match involving Hingis. The Swiss player spent the first few games watching and assessing, determining Williams’ weaknesses and strengths. Then she imposed her game plan.

“I think she just waits on you to make an error,” Williams said. “She gets a lot of balls back. She places her shots well. I definitely don’t think I played as well as I can. I made errors and rushed myself.”

The victory may not have been intended as a personal statement from Hingis to Williams, but more of a general memo to other players who bring an attitude to their match with the No. 1.

Hingis, who has been No. 1 for all of four months, has developed a hilarious take on the players who are challenging her, players that she invariably refer to as “youngsters.”

“[Venus] is almost the same age as me,” Hingis said. “Since I’m on top, I don’t want to lose to them. The older you get, the more youngsters are coming up. I like playing the youngsters. They don’t always know what to do on court.”

She almost always does.

Notes

Three seeded players lost Wednesday. Sandrine Testud of France defeated fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, 6-1, 6-2; Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia defeated fifth-seeded Anke Huber, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; and Natasha Zvereva of Belarus defeated eighth-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania, 6-2, 6-0. Advancing were third-seeded Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, who defeated Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 6-2, 6-1; and sixth-seeded Mary Pierce of France, who defeated countrywoman Nathalie Tauziat, 6-2, 6-1.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Toshiba Classic (at La Costa Resort)

STADIUM COURT

Beginning noon

* Yayuk Basuki vs. Amanda Coetzer (3)

* Helena Sukova vs. Conchita Martinez (7)

Beginning 7 p.m

* Natasha Zvereva vs. Monica Seles (2)