Martina Hingis' exhibition match headlines Odlum Brown VanOpen in West Vancouver
August 02, 2012 - 1:15 AM
WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Odlum Brown VanOpen was in full swing at Hollyburn Country Club on Wednesday, but all eyes were on an exhibition match.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis impressed onlookers with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Toronto's Sharon Fichman.
The 31-year-old Swiss star retired from the women's tour in 2007. But she's in town to promote Tonic Tennis clothing line in partnership with Vancouver-based Tonic Apparel.
Hingis looked comfortable on the court, joking with officials and the crowd between points en route to the win.
Meanwhile, everyone else played competitive matches for the US$200,000 purse at the United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit (USTA) event.
In the men's singles draw, Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock in a second-round match, while top-seeded Dutchman Igor Sijsling also advanced.
Toronto’s Steven Diez and Pierre-Ludovic Duclos of Sainte-Foy, Que., will play their second-round matches Thursday.
In the late match, Philip Bester of North Vancouver, B.C., and American Phillip Simmonds won their first-round doubles match 6-3, 6-4 over Chris Guccione and Matt Reid.
But Duclos and Sijsling fell 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 to Danai Udomchoke and Jimmy Wang.
Adil Shamasdin of Pickering, Ont., and partner Rik de Voest lost 7-6 (7), 6-3 to John Paul Fruttero and Rajeev Ram.
Two Canadians fell in women's singles first-round action. Marie-Eve Pelletier of Repentigny, Que., lost 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to Olga Savchuk while Toronto's Heidi El Tabakh lost 6-2, 6-1 to Maria Sanchez.
Top seed Mandy Minella of Luxembourg was upset by American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5
Toronto’s Sharon Fichman and Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski play second-round matches on Thursday.
El Tabakh and Dabrowski were knocked out of the women's doubles draw when they lost 6-4, 6-2 to Americans Lauren Embree and Shelby Rogers.
The tournament runs until Aug. 5.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012