Hingis well prepared for Fed Cup match

JAKARTA (JP): Martina Hingis, the youngest Wimbledon winner in history, claims she is well-prepared to beat Indonesian tennis queen Yayuk Basuki in their Federation Cup second-round playoff here this weekend.

"But it's going to be difficult for me because of the home crowd support she certainly enjoys," the world number 17 said upon her arrival yesterday. The match is scheduled for July 13 and July 14 at the Senayan rebound ace stadium.

The 15-year-old Swiss teenager beat Yayuk, who is 10 years older but 11 places lower in the world rankings, in their only previous meeting in March at Hilton Head island in North Carolina.

"My (world) ranking is higher than Yayuk's. I have played her once and I won," Hingis, appearing in her new short haircut, said. "Thus... I should be able to beat her again."

Melanie Hingis, Martina's mother, coach and non-playing captain of the Swiss team, said yesterday that Martina is likely to play doubles but she could not yet announce her partner. The draw is scheduled for tonight.

Martina joined forces with Helena Sukova of the Czech Republic to land the Wimbledon women's doubles crown on Monday.

During the Fed Cup European qualifying group tie in Lamanka, Spain, in April, Martina teamed up with Angela Brgis. Martina won all five singles and two doubles matches she played in the group tie this year.

Martina won 11 out of 13 matches in her Fed Cup debut year, last year. She lost one singles match to Natasha Zvereva of Belarus and one doubles match to Latvia's Larissa Nieland and Anjessa Plumberga.

Brgis did not make the team because of an upper foot strain and has been replaced by Andrea Schwarz.

Swiss team coordinator Annemarie Ruegg added that Martina would be fielded to play doubles only when necessary. This means that if the Swiss soar to a 3-0 winning lead from the singles matches, then it might not be necessary to field Martina in the doubles.

Indonesia leads Switzerland 2-1 in their Fed Cup encounters since 1976. Indonesia lost 3-0 in the United States in 1976 but avenged the loss with two 2-1 victories in 1989 in Japan and in 1990 in the U.S.

Martina, who attributed her new haircut to a need "for a change", said that playing in both the women's singles and doubles at Wimbledon recently did not tax her energy for the playoff. She proved her stamina in a practice with her team yesterday afternoon, a few hours after her arrival in Jakarta.

Martina also said that Jakarta's tropical heat would be no problem for her. "I have been to Australia for two years, where the climate is not too different from here," she said.

As for the court, Martina said that thus far, she has won more when playing on clay. But the rebound ace court is okay. "I have this kind of court at home. So playing here makes me feel like playing at home," she said.

Martina was born in then Czechoslovakia on Sept. 30, 1980. Melanie, who used to play tennis only in Czechoslovakia, said that her daughter learned tennis from her at the age of three.

They moved to Switzerland eight years ago. They now live in Trbback, a town in the Alps about 100km east of Zurich. (arf)