Defending Ericsson Open champions Martina Hingis and Pete Sampras blasted their way into the third round yesterday in Miami. Sampras defeated an enthusiastic Nichlos Kiefer of Germany 6-3 3-6 6-3 to set up a third round clash against 18-year-old Andy Roddick while Hingis crushed Itlay’s Rita Grande 6-2 6-2.
Venus Williams showed no sign of the right knee tendinitis that forced her to forfeit a semifinal showdown against sister Serena last week at Indian Wells. Venus beat Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands 6-2 6-0.
"I felt a lot better," Williams said, referring to last week's tendinitis flare-up. "Fortunately, I didn't have to run too hard or run too fast."
Men's second seed Marat Safin, despite suffering from a rib cage injury that also has caused pain in both of his hips, tried to play through the pain in his second round encounter with Juan Balcells of Spain. But the Russian U.S. Open champion, who sustained the injury last month during the Dubai semifinals, eventually fell to the 68th-ranked Balcells 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Briton Tim Henman became another seeded casualty when the ninth seed lost to Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. (Reuters)
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
