Happy returns
WIMBLEDON, England — When Martina Hingis won Wimbledon, she was at the peak of her power. She was 16.
A decade later at the All England Club, she's just happy to be playing at all, and satisfied to reach the third round after beating Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday.
The third round is where Hingis tripped up last year, when she ended a four-year, injury-forced retirement.
While she's not the virtually invincible Swiss Miss whose defeat in the French Open final cost her achieving a Grand Slam in 1997, Hingis was glad of a few changes since then.
"I'd say I was a little bit more chubby back then," Hingis said, pinching her cheeks. "I think as a teenager, you're just really growing into a phase that you gain weight. I'm definitely not proud of the way I looked.
"When I was holding the (Wimbledon) trophy, it didn't matter. It was just a great moment at that time. I grew out of it. You have to be in better shape today."
Hingis was quick enough on Wednesday to finish before rain halted play.
Eight singles matches were suspended in progress; 10 never began. In a bid to deal with the backlog, play was to start on most courts an hour earlier than usual Thursday.
Four-time defending champion Roger Federer was leading 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 when their match was suspended, putting on hold what would be the Swiss star's 50th consecutive grass-court win. He's due to resume in the first match on Court 1.
Back on Centre Court will be Tim Henman and Feliciano Lopez, who were at 1-1 in the first set.
In other men's matches Thursday, second-seeded Rafael Nadal was paired against Werner Eschauer of Austria. No. 4-seeded Novak Djokovic and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt were also due to play second-round matches.
In women's play, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo was to face Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, with second-seeded Maria Sharapova against Severine Bremond of France, and three-time champion Venus Williams against Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams was among the women who reached the third round on Wednesday before the weather worsened. She had a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Alicia Molik of Australia.
Other women advancing to the third round included No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic. French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, No. 12 Elena Dementieva, No. 13 Dinara Safina and No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova won their openers.
After returning to the tour in January 2006, Hingis was named comeback player of the year. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January, and is ranked No. 11 by the WTA, and seeded No. 9 here.
"I didn't put any sights on anything particular," said Hingis, who missed the French Open with an injured hip. "I just wanted to come back and play. That's all.
"I'm building up. I can only get better. Every day I'm winning on condition and match practice, also confidence."
