Swiss star Martina Hingis continued her impressive comeback at the Australian Hardcourt Championships as she ousted seventh-seeded Klara Koukalova in the second round on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Hingis cruised past the 35th-ranked Czech with a 6-3, 6-2 victory to set up a quarterfinal meeting against Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives who stunned the tournament's second seed, Francesca Schiavone. Hingis, who topped the world rankings at age 16, is participating in her first tournament since she retired three years ago due to leg injuries. “It wasn't an easy match…but on the other hand I made the important points, I won those games which I needed to win, especially the first set, closing it out, and the same in the second,” Hingis was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website. “The anticipation's coming back and every set I feel like I'm shaking off a little bit of the rustiness of the last three years,” admitted the Swiss wild card. Earlier on Wednesday, top-seed and defending champion Patty Schnyder eased past American qualifier Angela Haynes 6-3, 6-0 while fifth-seeded Tatiana Golovin, Hingis' doubles partner at the Gold Coast, defeated Austria's Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-3. Third-seeded Dinara Safina starts the quarterfinal action on Thursday against Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues followed by Hingis's face off with Llagostera Vives.
