Hingis’ Comeback Shifts Gears

The careers of Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport intersected for the 25th time in a pro singles match, and by the time it was over Tuesday, the player at the beginning of the end appeared to be Davenport, not Hingis.

Welcome to tennis’ crossroads.

Hingis, who defeated second-seeded Davenport, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open, moved into Phase II of her return, having left this comeback stuff in the rearview mirror. As for Davenport, she departed in uncertainty, coming close to tears in the interview room, speaking about the recently diagnosed bulging disk in her lower back.

Back injuries are serious at any stage, let alone for an athlete turning 30 in June. Davenport, who has been riddled with major injuries in recent years, has implied that another debilitating ailment could force her out of the sport.

In the span of four questions, Davenport went from feeling “OK” to revealing she had been diagnosed with the back injury. It started bothering her last month in Dubai, and though doctors last week suggested taking four to six weeks off, she pushed forward to play this event.

“I’m trying exactly to decide how far to push it, when to rest,” she said. “I’m kind of feeling like I’m going to give it my best with the hard courts.... It’s kind of up in the air.”

Could a short layoff turn into something longer or more permanent?

“I don’t know,” Davenport said. “I hope not.”

It didn’t look good as she stood up and appeared to be in discomfort as she left the interview room.

As well as Hingis played, there were hints that Davenport wasn’t her usual self. She made 21 unforced errors in the first set, and Hingis was particularly devastating with her backhand down the line, often leaving Davenport almost flat-footed and frozen.

“Probably I was a little more determined, even more hungry,” said Hingis, who had not played Davenport since 2001. “I ran down a lot of balls, which probably other girls try to over-hit.”

The key service break came with Davenport serving at 1-2 of the third. Hingis was the beneficiary of an apparent bad line call on the baseline at 30-30 and then broke serve one point later.

Only briefly did the past invade the present, a thought flickering through the always-active mind of Hingis. Leading 4-1 in the third, Hingis recalled a painful loss to Davenport on the same court. It was the final here in 2000, and she had led by a set and a break.

“I was up like 4-2, 40-15, I ended up losing the match,” Hingis said. “[Today] I’m like praying once I was up, 5-1, hopefully now I can finish it.... That was one of the finals somehow sometimes you want to turn back time.”

Tuesday was another step. Though Davenport leads their rivalry, 14-11, the victory means Hingis has twice defeated someone ranked in the top five in a little more than a month. In February, Hingis beat then-No. 4 Maria Sharapova in the semifinals at Tokyo. Davenport is now ranked No. 4.

Hingis left the tour in late 2002 because of ankle injuries, and rejoined the circuit full time in January, starting in Australia. Her rapid progress has surprised one friend, named Roger Federer.

“To be honest, I didn’t think it’s going to go that fast for her, to climb up the rankings and all this,” Federer said. “I thought she might crack top 30 at the end of the year. Here we are probably thinking she has a shot at winning a [Grand] Slam [event]. It’s quite incredible.”

Today, in the quarterfinals, Hingis will play No. 10 Dinara Safina of Russia. Safina defeated her friend and countrywoman, No. 5 Anastasia Myskina, 6-1, 6-3, in the fourth round.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals were top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne and No. 3 Sharapova. Henin-Hardenne beat Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-2, 6-1, and Sharapova defeated Shahar Peer of Israel, 7-6 (2), 6-1.

* TODAY’S SCHEDULE: D8