Martinez, Hingis Advance at Charleston

April 19, 2001 - 0:0
CHARLESTON, South Carolina Former champion Conchita Martinez of Spain recovered from a set down on Tuesday to defeat Lilia Osterloh and advance to the third round of the Family Circle Cup Women's Tennis Tournament.

Martinez, who won this clay court event in 1994 and 1995, reeled off 11 of the last 12 games to complete a 1-6 6-3 6-0 second-round victory.

World number one Martina Hingis took time to assert herself after falling behind 3-5 in the first set to post a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 victory over Bianka Lamade of Germany.

It was the first night match played in the new 10,000-seat stadium at the tennis center at Daniel island.

"The most important thing was just to put the ball in play," said Hingis of dealing with Tuesday's unseasonably cold and windy conditions.

"I just settled down and got used to it. In the beginning, I didn't know what to do," added the top seed.

The third-seeded Martinez found herself 1-6 1-2 behind before the veteran kicked her game into gear, winning the next four games to build a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Osterloh broke Martinez in the next game, but the Spaniard swept the next seven to close out the match.

The former Wimbledon champion said the victory helped restore her flagging motivation.

"It was a good win and hopefully it will give my confidence a boost," Martinez said.

Earlier on Tuesday, 10th-seeded American Amy Frazier became the first player to reach the third round by overwhelming German Andrea Glass 6-2 6-2, Reuters reported.

In a first-round match, 11th-seeded American Lisa Raymond breezed to a 6-3 6-0 victory over Rika Hiraki of Japan.

"Its always a relief to get past the first round at any tournament," Raymond said.

"It was so windy that when I woke up this morning, I thought I was in England," she joked.