83rd-ranked player ousts top seed Hingis

By Steven Wine
Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England — Because of her turbulent love life, rifts with mom and a 2 1/2-year Grand Slam slump, Martina Hingis carried a lot of baggage into Wimbledon.

Virginia Ruano Pascual couldn't care less that Martina Hingis blamed a balky back for her stunning defeat. Associated Press

The top-ranked Hingis blamed previously undisclosed tendinitis in her lower back for yesterday's listless 6-4, 6-2 loss to Virginia Ruano Pascual. But the real explanation may be more complicated.

It's the second time in three years that Hingis has lost in the opening round at Wimbledon. The defeats are part of her streak of 10 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without a title, all as the top-seeded player.

"I don't think it's such a big failure," Hingis said. "I know if I'm 100 percent, I can go out there and beat anybody."

Hingis appeared fine against Ruano Pascual, a Spaniard ranked 83rd who won a match at Wimbledon for the first time since 1998. But Hingis said she was hampered by an ailing back that flared up a week ago and restricted her practice routine.

"I was just afraid of moving," she said. "Against any player these days you have to just be able to run."

Hingis, 20, didn't repeat her recent admission that because of men, she's no longer focused on tennis. She has dated several players, including Swedish standout Magnus Norman last year, and recently was romantically linked to attorney Christopher Calkin, the prosecutor in the Miami trial of a man convicted of stalking Hingis.

She said Calkin wasn't at yesterday's match but has declined to discuss their relationship.

Also unclear is the status of Hingis' sometimes strained relationship with her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor. Twice Hingis tried touring without a coach, most recently this spring, before rehiring mom for the job.

Molitor refused to talk with reporters yesterday. Hingis quoted her mother as telling her: "You tried your best. Now it's over. You have to decide what you're doing next."

Added Hingis: "Sometimes you just need some time to recover your body and soul. Now I will have time to do it."

She was eliminated just five hours into the tournament, despite a new seeding system designed to reduce the number of early-round upsets.

Hingis' loss aside, the biggest surprise on the opening day was the weather — sunny and warm, with temperatures in the low 80s. Britons are unaccustomed to such conditions, especially at Wimbledon, and 50 fans and two ballgirls fainted because of the heat.

It had little effect on the play, which included victories by tournament favorites Pete Sampras and Jennifer Capriati. American teen-ager Andy Roddick won his Wimbledon debut, and Serena Williams and Marat Safin also advanced. No. 11-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill lost to fellow American Chris Woodruff.

The top-seeded Sampras, bidding for his eighth Wimbledon title, survived a couple of awkward moments to beat Francisco Clavet, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

At the start of the second set, Sampras was chagrined to realize he was standing at the wrong end of the court. And he won the final point of the set sprawled on the court after slipping, as Clavet hit a backhand into the net.

Capriati overcame a slow start to beat Maria Alejandra Vento, 6-3, 6-2.

"I think Jennifer right now is the favorite, definitely," Hingis said. "She's playing very well. She looks fitter than ever. She's believing in herself."