Former champion Martina Hingis, seeded-ninth, had to save two match points in the second set against a British wildcard Naomi Cavaday. The Swiss reached the second round defeating the promising teenager 6-7 7-5 6-0.
At the moment when Hingis was so close to losing the match, her extensive experience had a major role; she didn’t seem nervous at all. On the other hand, her opponent Cavaday, ranked 232nd in the world, wasn’t strong enough to seal the victory when she had the two match points in her hands, and after the lost opportunity, she simply lost confidence and mental strength to eventually let Martina win the deciding set 6-0.
BTW, the court where Hingis played her opening match is sometimes called the “Graveyard of Champions” since many seeded players were upset there, which is what nearly happened to the Swiss today.
In the second round, world No.11 Hingis will face Aiko Nakamura of Japan.
