Hingis Punctuates a Pregnant Pause

NEW YORK —  Cruel or not, Martina Hingis couldn’t resist flicking drop shots against her pregnant foe.

Or smiling about it.

Hingis didn’t get to be No. 1 by extending sympathy toward other players, so it was not too surprising Tuesday at the U.S. Open to see her pull out all of her tricks against a 15-week pregnant Tami Jones in a 6-0, 6-1 rout.

“When I read she was pregnant, I said, ‘Well, OK, I’m going to face two opponents at one time,” Hingis said with a laugh. “It was weird playing someone who is pregnant. It’s different.

“I only did two or three [drop shots]. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do more. But she got some of them.”

Barely.

Jones--formerly Whitlinger-Jones--had a little more roundness to her belly, was slower than usual and out of breath more. Her doctor told her it was safe to play as long as she drank lots of fluids to avoid dehydration. On a warm, muggy day at the Open, Jones guzzled as much water as she could hold.

“It was quite an experience,” said Jones, who lost the first set in 16 minutes. “It was a bit intimidating concerning my condition, but my husband thought what a great way to go out, playing in the new Arthur Ashe Stadium, playing Martina Hingis. It’s a good story for our child.”

The 42-minute match was the last in singles for the 28-year-old Jones, who will play once more in doubles in her home state of Wisconsin before concentrating on motherhood and settling down in Cincinnati.

“I kind of look at this as the end of this chapter in my life, and on to the next,” Jones said. “I’ve been looking forward to having a family, so I see this as a nice way to probably end my career.”

With her whole family in the stands, Jones went out with the idea of simply enjoying her last match, no matter the score.

“I kind of joked with the baby and said, ‘This is our debut,’ and talked about how exciting it would be,” Jones said. “It’s definitely something to remember.”

It was another day to forget for one of the former stars of the women’s tour, Jennifer Capriati, who fell, 6-1, 6-2, to No. 7 Conchita Martinez. As in so many other matches in her attempted comeback, Capriati lacked control and quickness as she sprayed 45 unforced errors--nearly twice as many as Martinez.

Capriati spoke again about her need to find a new coach to refine her game and help her win the close games she loses so often these days.

“I’ve just been waiting for the right person, someone I feel comfortable with,” she said. “That person hasn’t come along yet.”

In other women’s matches, No. 3 Jana Novotna, No. 4 Iva Majoli, No. 5 Amanda Coetzer, No. 9 Mary Pierce and No. 12 Mary Joe Fernandez all won in straight sets.

Aubrie Rippner, a 17-year-old Californian making her pro debut, beat Natalia Medvedeva, 6-2, 6-2.

Most of the top men’s players in action, including No. 2 Michael Chang, No. 3 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, advanced in straight sets. Arnaud Boetsch of France beat No. 16 Albert Costa of Spain in straight sets.

Sixth-seeded Alex Corretja of Spain, who nearly knocked off Pete Sampras in a magnificent four-hour quarterfinal match last year in the old stadium, needed four sets to down Marc Rosset.

“The first memories of the [Sampras match] was when I went to practice this morning,” Corretja said. “I tried to practice on that court because it’s so much different than the other ones. I remember match point, just when I fell down at the end of the match. It was kind of a tough situation. But it was funny.

“One year later, my tennis just improved a lot, so I have to go farther.”

Corretja said that after he lost that match most people thought he would never get another chance to prove himself as a top player.

“But I just turned it to the other face and said, ‘OK, if I could stay here four hours playing with him at this level, why can I not be a good player?’ ” he said. “That helped me to see that my game was improving a lot, even on hardcourts.”