After 20 years, Martina returns to Olympic stage

Martina Hingis has retired twice and been hit with a doping suspension since she last played the Olympics in 1996 as a precocious 15-year-old.

But after waiting 20 years to return to the Games, the Swiss star almost had her Rio dream snatched away - twice.

First, Roger Federer, her scheduled partner in the mixed doubles, withdrew with an injury and a day later Belinda Bencic, her doubles teammate, also pulled out.

In a last-minute solution, after Vitorija Golubic dropped out of the team, Hingis was paired with Timea Bacsinszky.

"When Roger agreed to play with me I was very excited, but in our sport you never know what's going to happen next week," said Hingis, who arrived in Rio on Thursday.

"Of course, when the phone call came I was little prepared as it's never easy to say no to something you have looked forward to. But we were both disappointed we couldn't compete in the Games together. I was looking forward to bringing home a medal.

"Now I have another opportunity. I never go on the court thinking I am going to lose, and I am here to compete hard alongside Timea."

At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Hingis lost in the second round of singles and reached the quarterfinals of the doubles with Patty Schnyder.

She went onto establish herself as the leading player of her generation, winning five Grand Slam singles titles between 1997 and 1999. But she retired in 2003 with a knee injury before returning to the tour in 2006.

One year later, she was into her second retirement when she was hit with a two-year doping suspension for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon.

Six years later she was back again, reinvented as a doubles specialist and has since won three Grand Slam titles, forming an imposing partnership with India's Sania Mirza.

"I was very much a rookie on the tour," the 35-year-old Hingis said as she recalled her time at the Atlanta Games.

"Now it's not as stressful. It's the experience that counts for me. I feel like a junior again. I was 15 then, now I am 35 and a lot of things have changed.

"Playing in the Olympics was a priority for me when I came back to play Fed Cup two years ago. Now I am here with Timea and I will try my best."

The only problem for the Swiss pair is that they have never played together as a doubles team - but it has not impacted their seeding.

"We are seeded fifth, so that shows confidence in us. We haven't played together, but we'll figure out a way to communicate," said Hingis.

(China Daily 08/06/2016 page12)