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Hingis ends memorable 2006 with another victory

Martina Hingis capped off her first full year back in professional tennis with a straight sets win in the opening round of the Australian women's hardcourt championships.

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SYDNEY: Martina Hingis capped off her first full year back in professional tennis with a straight sets win over Austria's Sybille Bammer in the opening round of the Australian women's hardcourt championships on Sunday.

Back playing at the same Gold Coast centre court where she relaunched her career in January, Hingis swept to a 6-0 6-2 win and a second round clash with either Russian Elena Bovina or Australian wildcard Nicole Pratt.

"I'll have a day off tomorrow and I can probably toast the win at midnight," Hingis told reporters after her match ended just before New Year's Eve celebrations were in full swing.

"She had to take a high risk because I wasn't missing. I was very focused and didn't have ups and downs. That was quite surprising after a six week break."

Hingis made the semi-finals in her comeback at the Gold Coast despite being a bundle of nerves in her first tournament for three years.

But the 26-year-old, who announced this week that she is engaged to marry Czech tennis player Radek Stepanek, was a model of composure this time.

The former world number one won WTA titles in Italy and India during 2006 and finished the year with an impressive record of 54 wins and 19 losses.

"Now I'm number seven in the world, I've won a couple of tournaments and played some great matches against top players so I know I can handle myself out there," she said. 

"Last year I didn't know and I found out after a few rounds but it definitely took me a while to get used to the nerves."

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