 Hingis lost to Dinara Safina in last week's Gold Coast final |
Martina Hingis made an early exit from the Sydney International on Monday but insisted it will leave her fresh for an assault on next week's Australian Open. She lost 6-4 4-6 6-3 in the first round to the in-form Jelena Jankovic, who won in Auckland the previous weekend.
But Swiss star Hingis, a three-time Australian Open winner said: "I always take positives out of a loss."
"Definitely, it was good to play three sets going into Melbourne but I should now be fresh and ready to go there."
 | I could have lost in straight sets but endurance-wise it was a good match for me |
Last year, Hingis went out at the same stage in Sydney, losing to world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne.
And she admitted that the match could have finished earlier had she not battled hard against 21-year-old Jankovic, who shot up the rankings in 2006 from 22 to 12.
"It could have been in straight sets," she added. "But I still came back and won the second, so endurance-wise it was good for me."