TENNIS great Martina Hingis has swept into Melbourne to play in the Australian Open legends tournament.
In a coup for organisers the Swiss former world No.1 will play at
Melbourne Park for the first time since her last main draw appearance in
2007.
Hingis, 31, is sure to be a crowd favourite, having claimed three titles here and made six consecutive finals from 1997-2002.
"Getting her back is great and she is a champion here," legends tournament director Todd Woodbridge said.
"She's
still playing a great brand of tennis and it's great for the sport. I
give great kudos to her good friend in Iva Majoli for helping persuade
Martina she needed a nice holiday in the Australian summer.
"They're looking to having some fun on and off the court."
Woodbridge said a top class field had been assembled for the start of play this weekend."We've been working on strengthening the legends men for the past few years and now we have a great line-up," he said.
"We've got (Goran) Ivanivesic, (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov and (Pat) Rafter. It's just created a buzz.
"They're still pretty young, fit and big names. This year I really wanted to work on getting some of the women back.
"That's
the beauty of the legends now is that they take it seriously but it's
not life or death on the court. They can get out and see the city and
enjoy themselves."
heraldsun
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