Martina Hingis,Welcome Back at the Australian Open

Martina Hingis, originally uploaded by iamkiwifruit.

2006/01/17 BBC

Rejuvenated Hingis eases through

Former champion Martina Hingis rolled back the years with a 6-1 6-2 victory over 30th seed Vera Zvonareva in the first round of the Australian Open.

Hingis, who has just returned to action at the age of 25 after three years out of the game with injury, had far too much guile for her Russian opponent.

Despite her lack of match practice the three-times Australian Open winner looked back to her best.

And Zvonareva was so out-classed she seemed on the verge of tears at times.

The match lasted only 65 minutes and Hingis, who described her return to the tournament as "just awesome", will now play Finland's Emma Laine.

"I love the surface and I love coming back here. This stadium has been so great to me. Right now I don't know what to say," said a clearly delighted Hingis.

"Now I am probably even more eager than I was when I was 17 and winning here."

Hingis admitted she was nervous before the match and said: "Sometimes I had to remind myself just keep cool and just focus on your strategy."