Players Past, Present Take Their Shots at No. 1 Hingis

Holding court at the top of women’s tennis was getting claustrophobic, so Martina Hingis went to a higher place after her unexpected French Open loss to Monica Seles, escaping to the Swiss mountains.

“I didn’t want to see anybody,” Hingis said. “Nobody was there at the top of the mountains.”

The escape from her teenage rivals and revitalized veterans was a brief one. Hingis came out of the clouds and returned to earth, finding Lisa Raymond waiting for her in the first round at Wimbledon as well as legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova in the broadcast booth.

Raymond, a strong all-court player, would be a difficult first-round opponent under most circumstances. But she was one of five players to beat Hingis last year, and the top-seeded Hingis was not at all pleased to see the draw, having to face the 19th-ranked Raymond right away.

After a tense first set and a rain delay, Raymond folded, losing, 7-5, 6-3. It was one of a handful of matches completed on a rain-marred Tuesday.

For Hingis, the win was greeted by visible relief. For Raymond, it represented a lost opportunity, failing to capitalize against a shaky Hingis.

“I could just see it in her face,” Raymond said. “I know Martina and we’re friends off the court. You can just sense when someone is a little apprehensive, not at ease with themselves.

“In the warmup, I could tell she wasn’t striking the ball as well as she usually does, and I’m sure that had a lot to do with nerves.”

Raymond had her best chances in the first set, but converted only one of six break-point opportunities. Afterward, she said she felt Hingis is vulnerable at Wimbledon.

“I think the loss at the French probably affected her as well,” Raymond said. “So I think she feels she’s got something to prove again. The first couple of matches are going to be tough for her.”

That subtle analysis of Hingis was nothing compared to HBO analysts Navratilova and King, who both served up a spirited commentary about the defending Wimbledon champion.

“Sometimes Martina Hingis seems to be unmotivated,” King said. “Last year, at the French Open, she was flat. This year, again, looking around kind of lackadaisical. She needs to step it up a gear. She needs to lift weights. She’s 5-6 and she plays these giants.”

Navratilova focused more on Hingis’ attitude toward Venus Williams and Steffi Graf.

“I thought she was not only dismissive during tournaments but also a bit dismissive of her opponents,” Navratilova said. “At the French Open, playing against Venus Williams, they’re 2-2, and Martina says, ‘There is no rivalry. I am No. 1,’ forgetting she lost to Venus twice this year.”

Previously, Hingis has acknowledged Venus Williams as her top competition. But Tuesday, she was again dismissive of Williams as a top challenger. The seventh-seeded Williams won her first match at Wimbledon, defeating Jana Nejedly of Canada, 6-3, 6-3.

“The Williamses [Venus and Serena] didn’t play that well at the last tournament I saw [in Eastbourne],” Hingis said.

Navratilova was bothered that Hingis dismissed Graf as old news in a recent interview in a monthly tennis magazine.

“Moving on to Steffi Graf, about whom she [Hingis] said, ‘Maybe she shouldn’t even bother playing,’ ” Navratilova said. “Well, let me tell you, on grass today, I will take Graf over Hingis. So, she better shape up emotionally and physically. She’s No. 1, but she needs to step it up.”

King and Navratilova weren’t the only legends in the business of communication. U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter defeated qualifier Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, and said he received inspiration from fellow Aussie John Newcombe in the form of a fax.

“It’s just between me and Newk,” said the sixth-seeded Rafter, who won a tournament Sunday in the Netherlands after getting the fax. “I needed a bit of a kick up the bum. It’s a fine line between me just snapping when I read that or taking the information and taking it on board.

“I thought, ‘OK, I’ll give it a go.’ Or I could have screwed it up and thrown it in the bin and got very mad about the fax.”

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Wimbledon at a Glance

* When: Through July 5. Women’s final on July 4. Men’s final on July 5.

* Where: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England.

* Defending champions: Men--Pete Sampras; Women--Martina Hingis.

* TV: Through Friday, HBO, 6 a.m.-noon; Saturday, NBC, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sunday, day off (highlights from earlier matches, NBC, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.).

How Seeded Players Fared Tuesday

Men’s First-Round Singles

Patrick Rafter (6), Australia, def. Ivo Heuberger, Switzerland, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

Women’s First-Round Singles

Hingis (1), Switzerland, def. Lisa Raymond, Wayne, Pa., 7-5, 6-3

Jana Novotna (3), Czech Republic, def. Sandra Kleinova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-2

Venus Williams (7), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., def. Jana Nejedly, Canada, 6-3, 6-3

Sandrine Testud (14), France, def. Rennae Stubbs, Australia, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0

Nathalie Tauziat (16), France, def. Haruka Inoue, Japan, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3

Today’s Featured Matches

MEN: Sampras (1) vs. Mikael Tillstrom; Francisco Clavet vs. Marcelo Rios (2); Petr Korda (3) vs. Filip Dewulf; Mark Draper vs. Greg Rusedski (4); Carlos Moya (5) vs. Mahesh Bhupathi; Tomas Nydahl vs. Rafter (6); Tommy Haas vs. Andre Agassi (13)

WOMEN: Larisa Neiland vs. Lindsay Davenport (2); Henrieta Nagyova vs. Steffi Graf (4); Catalina Cristea vs. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (5); Monica Seles (6) vs. Alexandra Fusai