Hingis rules out comeback

South East Asia News.Net
Tuesday 19th January, 2010 (IANS)

Martina Hingis has dipped her toes back into tennis after completing a two-year-ban late last year.

But the 29-year-old three-time Australian Open winner says that while she desperately misses her life on court, there is little chance she will be making any kind of a return.

'I can't imagine life without tennis, I'd like to play more exhibitions and see what happens,' the Swiss said after beating fellow ex-number-one Lindsay Davenport in a German exhibition between retired stars. 'Past that, I just don't know at the moment.'

Hingis dominated the Australian Open from 1997, winning three trophies on the trot as a teenager and reaching the final in the next three editions.

After reversing a 2002 retirement - much like Belgium's Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin have done recently - Hingis tested positive five years later for cocaine, a charge which she said was untrue but one which she chose not to fight in court.

Her ban ended last November.

From the sidelines, Hingis says she finds something lacking in the current women's game, which the returns of Clijsters and Henin might help cure. 'The young girls all play the same way, Justine and Kim are successful because they vary their game.'

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Nothing wrong in betting firms sponsoring Grand Slam: Roddick

Poker-playing Andy Roddick says he can find little fault in an online betting firm serving as a minor sponsor of the Australian Open amid a campaign against possible match-fixing in the sport.

'I say you can have a sponsor (Betfair) that wants to advertise, I don't really see how it affects our roles,' said the seventh seed and former number one.

'I think we all know what we can and can't do.'

Roddick added: 'At this point with this economy, I do think it would be foolish to say no to willing sponsors.

'It's still up to us as players to act responsibly. I don't think that changes because of signage on a court.'

Several smaller ATP events have had online betting shops as sponsors in recent seasons with no ill effects, with the ATP saying that the decisions are strictly commercial and driven by the marketplace.

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