Martina Hingis to Play Singles in Fed Cup

Sania Mirza’s women’s double partner Martina Hingis will be playing singles for the first time since 2007 when she faces current World No.9 Agnieszka Radwanska in Switzerland’s Fed Cup Tie against Poland.

Hingis, started playing doubles again in the summer of 2013 and is currently doing very well in the team discipline. She won the mixed doubles in Australian Open this year along with Leander Paes and now has achieved the number 1 ranking in women’s doubles with Sania Mirza being her partner.

Martina Hingis has not only being a former World No.1 but has 5 Grand Slam championships to her name as well. Her last tour-level singles match came against China’s Peng Shuai at Beijing in 2007.

When asked about how she felt on taking the singles court again after 8 years, she said, “That’s why I took a while to make this decision – I was like, ‘Give me another night to sleep on it. The comfort zone is there to play doubles, obviously I’ve played very well in the last five weeks, winning three titles, and the confidence is there. But singles is a different ball game. On the other hand they have put the trust in me, so it’s like, ‘Let’s go for it. Let’s try.’

Hingis has had a little practice in the singles discipline as well.

“Hopefully I can make at least a game, you know – a point for Switzerland!. I’ve played some World TeamTennis in America in the last three or four years, maybe a set,” said Hingis. “But it’s usually just one set. That’s why I said I should sleep on it. We’ll see if I can last.

On the other hand, Agnieszka Radwanska too seems happy and excited about playing Martina Hingis, whom she had once idolised.

“I’m very happy about it,” Radwanska said. “I haven’t played her for a couple of years now, so it’s going to be a good challenge, especially since she’s still very fit and still playing some great tennis.”

Radwanska added, “We actually played in the Indian league a few months ago. She was there as a singles player. She was still playing great tennis, playing against everyone. She’s still young and very fit and after so many years on tour she can’t forget how to play good singles. That’s why she can still be very dangerous.”

In the only meeting the two have had before, Radwanska got the better of Hingis.

Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky, will be Switzerland’s two singles players this weekend, and Radwanska sisters Agnieszka and Urszula Poland’s singles players. The doubles match will pit Bacsinszky and Hingis against Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska.