Hingis sweeps into Wimbledon second round

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) Martina Hingis firmly banished her worst Wimbledon nightmares today, sweeping into the second round with a stylish 6-2 6-2 win over Ukrainian teenager Olga Savchuk.

Hingis, revelling in a comeback that has already taken her to the quarter-finals of the Australian and French Grand Slams, showed all her old deftness of touch with some exquisite drop shots that left Savchuk flat-footed.

It was the Swiss former world number one's first appearance at Wimbledon for five years. Last time she got knocked out in the first round by Spain's Virginia Ruana Pascual.

Now 12th seed Hingis, who won Wimbledon when just three months short of her 17th birthday back in 1997, is clearly in love with her tennis again and she beamed to an appreciative crowd as she left court two.

REUTERS DH KP1936