Hingis Rests Up and Pours It On

Martina Hingis is probably one of the few people to actually smile at a cameo appearance from El Nino.

A two-hour rain delay Saturday bought her time--after a busy day of singles and doubles Friday--and disconcerted her opponent, Lindsay Davenport.

So, a fresher Hingis and slightly out-of-sorts Davenport added up to a one-sided outcome, Hingis winning the State Farm Evert Cup, 6-3, 6-4, in 63 minutes. With the victory, she avenged a loss to Davenport last month, and solidified her hold on No. 1.

“If you keep playing as well as you do, they’ll have to name a tournament after you,” Chris Evert told the Swiss teenager on the court afterward.

How about next week?

The 17-year-old Hingis did not lose a set this week at Grand Champions Resort and showed signs she is fitter, faster and better than in 1997. Though she has lost twice in 1998, the level of competition is tougher now.

“Her first serve has gotten harder,” said the No. 2-ranked Davenport, who won this event in 1997. “A year ago, I don’t think her first serves were going as hard as they are now.

“I think she’s seen more opponents, gotten a little bit smarter. She’s trying to hit the ball a little harder.”

Hingis agreed.

“Some of the tournaments, like Wimbledon, I was a little bit fat there,” she said. “But I still had the power, and I still won the tournament. My movement has improved. I don’t have that many ups and downs in matches anymore.”

Davenport, who lacked the sharpness she showed in the semifinals against Steffi Graf, had 27 unforced errors and fell behind 5-0 in the first set after 19 minutes. This time, Hingis was able to move Davenport around on the court, preventing her from setting up her powerful forehand.

“Normally I’m a very fast starter,” said Davenport, who lives in Newport Beach. “I got down 5-0. I wasn’t feeling very good. It was tough with the rain delay. I hit on a wet court for about 20 minutes. She had to do the same thing. She handled it much better. She came out on fire. I started slowly.

“That’s one thing you can’t do against the No. 1 player in the world, especially in a final. It’s too big a hole to come back from.”

Hingis is not a morning person and was pleased to see it raining.

“Everybody likes it if it rains, and you get a bigger break,” Hingis said. “Tennis players usually are pretty spoiled, and they don’t really like to wake up early in the morning.”

Eventually, Davenport steadied and made the match more competitive, winning three consecutive games to pull to 5-3 before Hingis held at 15 to take the first set. They stayed on serve until the fifth game of the second set, with Hingis breaking serve as Davenport hit a forehand wide.

At 5-4, Davenport staved off two match points before Hingis won it when Davenport smacked a forehand into the net. For the victory, Hingis earned $205,000 and Davenport received $83,000.

It was one of those days where everything was working for Hingis. Case in point was in the ninth game of the second set, when she switched hands and hit a forehand with her left hand.

“I’ve seen her try to hit some one-handed backhands in matches,” Davenport said. “She even made it, which of course today she would make that.”

Hingis once played a tournament left-handed in the Czech Republic when she was 9. She had a broken finger on her right hand and reached the final.

Hingis didn’t like losing then . . . even with a left hand.

“After two weeks, I was ready to play with the right hand,” she said. “I beat her [the same opponent] after that with the right.”

And now?

“When she loses to someone, she always comes back the next time a little bit more fired up,” Davenport said. “I knew I had beaten her three weeks ago, that she was going to want to play well and win today.”