Martina Hingis will officially put her singles hat on for the first time since 2007 this weekend, playing two singles matches -- as well as the doubles match -- in Switzerland's Fed Cup playoff tie against Poland.
Hingis, who came back to the tour in doubles in the summer of 2013 and has since become one of the top players in the team discipline, is the former world No. 1 in singles star, winning five Grand Slam titles. Her last tour- level singles match came against China's Peng Shuai in Beijing in '07.
She was asked how it feels to take the singles court again for the first time in almost eight years.
"That's why I took a while to make this decision -- I was like, 'Give me another night to sleep on it,'" Hingis said. "The comfort zone is there to play doubles, obviously I've played very well in the last five weeks, winning three titles, and the confidence is there. But singles is a different ball game. On the other hand they have put the trust in me, so it's like, 'Let's go for it. Let's try.'
"Hopefully I can make at least a game, you know -- a point for Switzerland!"
She has had a little bit of practice in singles, though.
"I've played some World TeamTennis in America in the last three or four years, maybe a set," Hingis said. "But it's usually just one set. That's why I said I should sleep on it. We'll see if I can last.
"I'll try my best for the team. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
Hingis' first match will be against current world No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday.
"I'm very happy about it," Radwanska said. "I haven't played her for a couple of years now, so it's going to be a good challenge, especially since she's still very fit and still playing some great tennis.
"We actually played in the Indian league a few months ago. She was there as a singles player. She was still playing great tennis, playing against everyone. She's still young and very fit and after so many years on tour she can't forget how to play good singles. That's why she can still be very dangerous."
Radwanska beat Hingis in their only previous meeting.
[SportsNetwork.com]
