Hingis hoping for a fresh start

Martina Hingis feels like she is starting her career all over again, which is just as well because things have not gone well for her lately.

Still only 21, Hingis has seen her career slump. She won five grand slam titles before her 19th birthday but has not won a major since.

Struggling to match the new breed of power players gracing women's tennis, Hingis saw her fortunes go from bad to worse when she tore her ankle to pieces late last year and lost her world number one ranking.

But Hingis, ever the optimist, says the injury has been a blessing in disguise and she hopes to end her grand slam drought as early as next week's Australian Open.

"It kind of feels like a new beginning in a way," she said.

"I have been on the tour seven years, this is my eighth, and maybe I needed to have this break and just get away from it a little bit."

Hingis surrendered her number one ranking, first to Jennifer Capriati then to Lindsay Davenport, when she tore three ligaments in her left ankle in Filderstadt last October.

But the disappointment of losing her top ranking proved to be nothing compared to the pain her ankle was to cause her.

WINTER AT HOME

She needed immediate surgery to fix the problem then spent most of the following month in rehabilitation before she was properly able to walk again.

With her movement restricted, Hingis was unable to travel to Florida to train in the sun as she had done for the previous seven years so she spent the winter at home in Switzerland and loved it.

"It was kind of a weird feeling being at home for so long. I got into a routine and in the end I didn't want to leave," she said.

"The first three days after surgery were just horrible, they were the worst of my life.

"But it made me appreciate all of the things I was able to do before and you just take for granted."

Hingis said she also had time to reassess her game and after two years of fruitlessly trying to match muscle with muscle, she decided the only way to start winning grand slams again was to play smarter, more efficient tennis than her bigger, stronger rivals.

"There are other great players, the competition is getting stronger so we can't always expect to win every single tournament but it would definitely be nice to win another one," she said.

"It is not like I couldn't do it in the past. I was always very close, made semifinals in most of the grand slams, so you just take it another step.

THREE IN A ROW

"I've spent a lot of hours (practising) on the court because it is all about the game for me. If I get in greater shape it is not going to help me against the Williams sisters or anybody.

"My tennis game helped me to beat these girls, so I am relying on this," added Hingis, who stands 1.70 metres tall and weights 59 kgs, compared to American Venus Williams at 1.85 metres and 72 kgs.

The Australian Open has always been Hingis's best tournament. She won her first grand slam in Melbourne in 1997 as a 16-year-old and went on to win three of the four majors that year, missing her chance of the grand slam sweep when she lost to Iva Majoli in the French Open final.

She successfully defended her Australian Open in 1998 then made it three in a row by winning again in 1999 and has reached the last two finals at Melbourne Park.

Part of the reason for Hingis's success in Australia has been that she has always arrived at the first grand slam of the year fitter than most her rivals.

Her ankle injury means, for the first time in years, that Hingis will not start the tournament as favourite but she said she was more than happy to be the underdog.

"It is nice to be the hunter again instead of the hunted," she said. "This is a different position to be in and now the other girls also have to prove it for once."