Briefs

Hingis is a straight-set winner in return to court

By wire services
Published January 2, 2006

GOLD COAST, Australia - Martina Hingis won in her return to competitive tennis, beating Maria Vento-Kabchi 6-2, 6-1 in a first-round match at the Australian Women's Hardcourt Championships.

Hingis, 25, who won five Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2002 because of ankle, heel and foot injuries, started tentatively as both players exchanged service breaks.

But Hingis, a former world No.1 and three-time Australian Open champion, showed no sign of the extended layoff as she outplayed Vento-Kabchi.

"I was a little nervous," Hingis told the crowd at the sold-out Royal Pines stadium after the match. "I'd like to thank my family and friends for supporting me."

It was Hingis' first WTA Tour match since losing to Elena Dementieva in Filderstadt, Germany, in October 2002.

Tournament spokesman Eloise Tyson said Hingis appeared to be injury-free at the end of the match.

Hingis faces seventh-seeded Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic in the second round.

Hingis will team with Tatiana Golovin in doubles this week.

CASH RETURNS: Pat Cash is returning to the ATP Tour after an eight-year absence. The Australian, 40, will play doubles with teenager Karan Rastogi in the season-opening Chennai Open that begins today in Madras, India.

HOPMAN CUP: Lisa Raymond and Taylor Dent beat Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in mixed doubles to give the United States a 2-1 victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the opener for both in Perth, Australia.

OLYMPICS

U.S. hockey beats nemesis

Krissy Wendell scored twice to help the United States beat Canada 5-3 in a women's exhibition in Winnipeg. The meeting was the last between the teams before the Turin Games in February.

The defending Olympic champion Canadians are 8-2 against the Americans since September. Their other loss was a 2-1 shootout during an exhibition Nov.27 in Ohio.

U.S. coach Ben Smith said he doesn't think Canada's record against his team will weigh heavily on his players' minds.

"I didn't see any podiums out there today, so I think we'll stay calm," Smith said.

Jenny Potter gave the Americans a 3-2 lead five minutes into the third period, but Canada's Cheryl Pounder sent a rebound behind goalie Pam Dreyer to even it at 9:32.

Kristin King and Wendell then gave the United States the lead with goals three minutes apart.

WORLD JUNIORS: The United States plays the Czech Republic in a quarterfinal tonight in Vancouver, with the winner advancing to face Russia.

HARASSMENT SCANDAL: Reigning Olympic skeleton champion Tristan Gale , one of two athletes involved in a sexual harassment scandal surrounding U.S. national coach Tim Nardiello , said not having a chance to defend her gold at Turin did not influence her claims. Gale said she has not filed any formal grievance against Nardiello, who was placed on administrative leave Saturday, but confirmed that her mother had recently written the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation to detail a long pattern of harassment.

SKIING: Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic won the second leg of the annual ski jumping Four Hills tour in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, for his fifth World Cup victory of the season.

ET CETERA

BOXING: Former super-welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya and his wife, Millie , are parents of a son. Oscar Gabriel De La Hoya was born Thursday in Los Angeles, weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 211/2 inches.

HORSES: Live racing at Tampa Bay Downs begins Tuesday, with gates opening at 11 a.m. and post time at 12:25 p.m. After that, racing will be held every day but Wednesdays and Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan.16, when the track will be open only for simulcasting.

TRACK: Australian Andrew Letherby and American Sara Slattery won the New Year's Eve midnight run in New York's Central Park. Letherby won the 27th 4-mile run in 18 minutes, 44 seconds, and Slattery finished in 21:36.

YACHTING: Leg 2 of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race begins today in Cape Town, South Africa, with a scheduled finish in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan.16. The Black Pearl , the only U.S. entry, was tied for last in the seven-boat fleet.

[Last modified January 2, 2006, 02:30:25]