The Hindu : Sport : `A title is always special'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 25, 2006
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`A title is always special'

Amitabha Das Sharma

KOLKATA: Martina Hingis says a title is always special to her.

"This title is very special for me. It is the second one after I made the comeback early in the year,'' she said after having seen off the challenge of Russian Olga Poutchkova in less than an hour for the Sunfeast Open title.

The `Swiss Miss,' as she is popularly called, said that the latest triumph has instilled the confidence that she lost during a prolonged lay-off with injury.

"I can now think that it is possible. The return now looks okay,'' she said meaning well that her comeback has not been in vain. "I have had a successful year having beaten every big player in the circuit. The top-10 ranking now looks more worthy,'' Hingis added.

"I am happy that I could play well,'' she said. "My performance in the first six months after the comeback exceeded my expectations. I played well in the Grand Slams — reaching quarterfinals in two of them. Now that there is another title, the season seems to be progressing towards a satisfactory end,'' was how Hingis preferred to sum up her performance so far.

Poutchkova almost repeated the words of awe and admiration about Hingis that Sania Mirza had done losing to the former in the semifinal on Saturday.

"The match had been a great experience for me. She's Hingis and you have little chance against a player of her merit,'' she said.

Poutchkova's tribute did not stop there. "She gave me only two chances and then took the game away from me, '' the Russinan teenager said about her loss.

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