Hingis Takes Excuse Route

At one point in an increasingly frustrating second set Monday, Martina Hingis looked into the sky and closed her eyes. Perhaps she was praying for a miracle, or a mercifully quick finish.

Or perhaps she was merely contemplating the sun, which, for Wimbledon, was astonishingly bright, and there she was sweating beneath it, having chosen to wear a tight-fitting, long-sleeved shirt.

That no doubt would be more appropriate attire for later during the two-week tournament--perhaps as early as today, according to the forecast--but Hingis will not be on the court to experience it. She lost, 6-4, 6-2, to the world’s 83rd-ranked player, Spain’s Virginia Ruano Pascual.

It was only the fourth time that the No. 1-seeded woman has lost in the first round, although, for Hingis, it was an example of history repeating. She was seeded No. 1 when she lost in the first round two years ago to Jelena Dokic on the same Court 1, also in straight sets.

Asked during the post-match interview about what went wrong, Hingis turned around the question.

“Well, what went well?” she said. “Not much.”

She then revealed that she has been suffering since early last week from tendinitis in her lower back and said she probably would have withdrawn if she hadn’t drawn a relatively easy first-round opponent in Ruano, who reached the fourth round in singles three years ago at Wimbledon but is known more for her doubles play. This year, Ruano won the French Open doubles and mixed doubles titles.

Still, Ruano didn’t seem too pleased to hear that Hingis had an excuse. Until then, Ruano believed she had won the match, not that Hingis had lost it.

“I play my best game,” Ruano said in halting English. “Maybe that is the big point. I don’t know how she feel.”

One thing certain is that Hingis, like virtually everyone else on opening day at the All England Club, felt the heat. Serena Williams, a 6-1, 6-0 victor over Hungary’s Rita Kuti Kis, was among the few exceptions. “This is like heaven compared to what it was like back home in Florida,” Williams said.

But, when the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was in the 80s, players donned baseball caps to shade their eyes. You don’t see that every day at Wimbledon. England’s Tim Henman, a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 winner over Russia’s Artem Derepasko, complained that he lost his serve in the sun at least twice. Fifty fans and two ball girls fainted from the heat.

The unseasonably warm weather was the biggest surprise until Hingis’ loss trumped it. Nothing could have trumped that, except for a loss on Center Court by the No. 1-seeded man, seven-time champion Pete Sampras.

That never even seemed like a possibility. Sampras was more methodical than spectacular as he never lost serve, or even faced break point, in winning, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4, over 53rd-ranked Francisco Clavet of Spain.

Sampras, who as defending men’s champion played the first match on Center Court, was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd, including the Duke of Kent in the royal box. That hasn’t always been the case, but it seems as if the British finally appreciate Sampras, perhaps sensing that he is nearing the end of his brilliant career or perhaps responding to his emotional reaction to last year’s victory over Pat Rafter in the final.

“There’s no question, you walk out there after winning it last year, you come back the first match out--the tradition they have here, you feel that,” Sampras said. “The ovation I got when I walked out was nice, also walking off the court.”

It’s doubtful that Jose Clavet had the same warm and tingly feeling when Monday began. He is the brother and former coach of Francisco and the current coach of Ruano. What bad luck of the draw to have both playing against No. 1-seeded players.

Most of Francisco Clavet’s success has been on clay, but he wasn’t tempted to join the boycott of clay-court specialists who believe they are discriminated against by those who seed the Wimbledon draw. That might or might not include Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten, who became the first world No. 1 since rankings were instituted to bypass Wimbledon. He claimed injury and fatigue.

Clavet reached the round of 16 three years ago at Wimbledon and won his first title on a surface other than clay this year. But Sampras, even though his groundstrokes were inconsistent, overwhelmed Clavet with his power.

Hingis’ style is much different from Sampras’, but Jose Clavet had no reason to believe the result would be different when he sent Ruano onto the court. It was clear almost from the start, though, that she was playing well and Hingis was not.

Hingis double-faulted six times, connected on only 59% of her first serves and committed 22 unforced errors, many from her beloved baseline.

Starting with the U.S. Open in 1996, Hingis reached at least the semifinals of 11 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. She won five.

But she came into the first round at Wimbledon in 1999 after an emotional meltdown in a French Open final loss to Steffi Graf and a break with Melanie Molitor, her mother and coach. At least her conqueror that year, Dokic, was considered a rising star. Ruano is 27.

Now Hingis, although she will retain her No. 1 ranking no matter what happens at Wimbledon, hasn’t won any of the last 10 Grand Slam tournaments.

Hingis’ loss opens an easier path to the semifinals for No. 4-seeded Jennifer Capriati.

Her reaction to Hingis’ loss?

“You know,” Capriati said, “stuff happens.”

But it didn’t happen to Capriati Monday. She won, 6-3, 6-2, over Venezuela’s Maria Alejandra Vento. Capriati is already halfway to a Grand Slam after having won the Australian and French opens.