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| |  Monday, 25 June, 2001, 16:13 GMT 17:13 UK Hingis dumped out of Wimbledon Ruano Pascual is an unknown quantity V Ruano Pascual (Spa) bt M Hingis (Swi) 6-4 6-2 Martina Hingis has been knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round by an unknown Spaniard, Virginia Ruano Pascual. It was by far the biggest shock of the day. Elsewhere, top Britons Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman came through thier first round encounters, with 12th-seeded American Jan Michael Gambill the biggest name amongst the men's seeds to fall. In the women's competition, Serena Williams eased through as did Australian and French Open champion Jennifer Capriati, although not many would have thought that the number one seed would fall by the wayside. Swiss shocker Hingis, whose form has been poor of late, suffered early in the match and was battling from the first game of the first set. It was only a matter of time before Ruano Pascual took advantage of one of the gifted break points with the Spaniard coming through the first set 6-4. Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam winner, must have thought that she would be able to make a comeback, but the Spaniard was in no mood to compromise.
Ruano Pascual, who was a beaten semi-finalist at last weeks' Eastbourne competition, broke Hingis in first game of the second set and then broke her again to take a 4-1 lead. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable as Wimbledon was treated to one of the biggest shocks in recent history. The Swiss was understandably upset and blamed her defeat on the tendinitis in her back which has been troubling her. "I thought it was going to get better - I didn't want to miss Wimbledon. It's behind me," said Hingis.
"I had acupuncture in my lower back and got better but I missed out on practice - and you have to practise before Wimbledon. "I wasn't playing well but she had some great shots and was better today - there's no excuse. "Either I do really well here or lose first round." The 1997 champion, who was also dumped out of the first round two years ago at the hands of Jelena Dokic, added who she thought would win the title. Hingis then added who she thought would claim the title. "I think the Williams' sisters and Jennifer Capriati have a great chance." | |
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