Hingis Falls in First Round of Comeback Appearance

Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis’ comeback was spoiled Tuesday when Marlene Weingartner of Germany beat her, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, in a first-round match at the Volvo Women’s Open in Pattaya, Thailand.

Hingis looked far slower than she did before taking a two-year break to recuperate from a severe ankle injury. The five-time Swiss Grand Slam champion last competed in a WTA tournament in October 2002 at Filderstadt, Germany, where she lost to Elena Dementieva.

Hingis was composed after the loss, telling reporters the match had been “a nice experience” but that she had no set plans for an extended comeback or to play other tournaments.

Hingis said the two-year layoff had taken a toll.

“The foot is still all right now,” she said. “But we will see tomorrow. I’m 25 now. It’s hard for me physically. I’m not 18 years old anymore.”

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Third-seeded Mario Ancic beat Bohdan Ulihrach, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round of the Milan Indoors in Italy. Sixth-seeded Rainer Schuettler ousted 2002 champion Davide Sanguinetti, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

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Japan’s top player, Ai Sugiyama, was eliminated, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, by Roberta Vinci in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Four-time tournament champion Lindsay Davenport will play today.

College Football

Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer received a raise that will push his salary to $2.05 million annually, putting him among the top paid coaches in college football.

Fulmer’s contract was increased from nearly $1.8 million annually and extended by one year to 2011, officials said. Fulmer, 54, is 123-31 at the school.

Other coaches making $2 million or more annually include Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Texas’ Mack Brown and Florida’s Urban Meyer. Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville has agreed to a $2-million-plus deal.

Former Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges testified in Kent, Wash., that she didn’t initially read the full text of an e-mail that mistakenly authorized gambling by athletic department employees in NCAA basketball pools.

The mistake made by former Washington compliance director Dana Richardson is a cornerstone of former coach Rick Neuheisel’s lawsuit against the university and NCAA.

Hedges’ testimony came on the second day of trial of the lawsuit. Neuheisel contends he was unfairly fired in June 2003 and that the NCAA wrongly pressured the school to dismiss him.

Former Michigan State assistant Brad Lawing testified in Memphis, Tenn., that he was told money had been paid to Trezevant High Coach Lynn Lang to influence defensive lineman Albert Means’ choice of college. He also said Lang demanded $200,000 to persuade Means to pick Michigan State.

The rebuttal witness for the prosecution was called after the defense rested in the trial of businessman Logan Young, accused of paying $150,000 to Lang to influence Means.

Both sides made closing arguments and the U.S. District Court jury is expected to begin its deliberations today.

Baseball

The controversy over the Angels’ name change has not hurt the team at the box office. In their debut year as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team expects to sell a record 27,000 season tickets, spokesman Tim Mead said.

The season could be two-thirds sold out -- more than 2.4 million tickets -- before single-game tickets go on sale. The Angels expect to sell enough partial-season packages to account for the equivalent of another 3,000 season tickets, Mead said. Angel Stadium seats 45,050.

In their American League West championship season last year, the then-Anaheim Angels sold 21,894 full-season tickets and the equivalent of another 3,026 through partial-season packages, Mead said.

Trans-West Inc., a Denver truck dealership, won a $363,000 verdict against former Colorado Rockie controlling owner Jerry McMorris after accusing him of fraud in the liquidation of his bankrupt Westway Express trucking company in 2003.

Miscellany

Billy McNicol, a former player and longtime coach, was hired as an assistant by the Galaxy. McNicol, 50, will also coach the Galaxy’s reserve team in the MLS developmental league.

The condition of injured jockey Gary Boulanger was upgraded from critical to serious after surgery to remove his spleen and a blood clot on his brain. Boulanger, 37, was hurt Sunday in a spill at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Jody Berry of Beverly Hills, one-time professional heavyweight fighter from Owensboro, Ky., whose eventual Hollywood entertainment career brought him the label of “The Singing Fighter,” died Jan. 18 after a long battle with cancer. Berry was 68.