Triple champion Martina Hingis hurtled into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday, overcoming extreme heat that helped Amelie Mauresmo secure an equally speedy victory.
The Russians also continued coming, with 12th seed Anastasia Myskina becoming the country’s fifth woman through, but sixth-seeded Guillermo Coria was knocked out by France’s Sebastien Grosjean.
Others to negotiate the third round safely included seventh seed Patty Schnyder, who beat Japan’s Aiko Nakamura to end Asia’s singles hopes, and 16th seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic.
Lleyton Hewitt’s conqueror, Juan Ignacio Chela, also progressed.
But it was Hingis who stole the spotlight, making a mockery of her 349 ranking to humble young pretender Iveta Benesova, ranked 42, with a clinical 6-4, 6-1 victory on a sun-baked Rod Laver Arena.
On the comeback trail after a three-year injury break, Hingis will now dare to believe that she can do what many thought was unthinkable — make her seventh consecutive Australian Open final.
Her last appearance here was in the 2002 final when she agonisingly lost to Jennifer Capriati after being 4-0 up in the second set and having four match points.
The five-time grand-slam winner was buoyant after reaching the fourth round of a tournament that she won in 1997, 1998 and 1999 before injuries forced her out of the game in late 2002.
”Every match I get out here is really a coming back home,” she told the Melbourne Park crowd, saying she is relishing being able to again compete at the highest level.
”Coming into this tournament, I was like, ‘OK, tough first round, I’ll see if I survive that one first,’ but one by one … expectations just definitely grow. With every match I’m getting more confidence.”
Hingis has seen the draw open up for her. She will next play the winner of the night match between Samantha Stosur of Australia and Austrian Sybille Bammer for a place in the quarterfinals.
Mauresmo secured her berth thanks to the soaring temperatures that accounted for her opponent, who was unable to continue with the French star leading 6-2 and about to start the second set.
”I can’t play,” Michaella Krajicek, of The Netherlands, told the umpire before bursting into tears.
The temperatures had jumped above 35 degrees Celsius and while the tournament has a rule that allows for play to be suspended at this heat, it only takes immediate effect on the outside courts.
The rules state that play will continue on the show courts, where Mauresmo and Krajicek were playing, until after the match ends at which point the retractable roofs will be closed.
Mauresmo next plays Vaidisova.
Myskina took care of Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-3, 6-1 and joins compatriots Maria Sharapova, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Vesnina in the fourth round.
But Russia only has one man still left in Nickolay Davydenko after Igor Andreev was beaten by 12th seed Dominik Hrbaty of the Slovak Republic 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Grosjean, a semifinalist here in 2001, dumped Coria 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
”It’s never easy to beat him in these conditions. I’m really happy to be in the fourth round,” said the Frenchman.
Dark horse Tommy Haas of Germany continued his good form with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over local hope Peter Luczak to set up a potential fourth-round clash with world number one Roger Federer.
Federer, who lost to Haas at the Kooyong Classic warm-up exhibition tournament, plays Max Mirnyi of Belarus in a night match.
Women’s second seed Kim Clijsters is also in action later, against Italy’s Roberta Vinci. — Sapa-AFP