Mauresmo not strong enough for Hingis

Tennis: Martina Hingis struggled through the first set, but got her powerful game into synch in the second to knock Amelie Mauresmo out in the opening round of the $6.7 million Grand Slam Cup in Munich last night 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.

Hingis began the contest by losing serve but squared the match in the fourth game. However, her troubles with the Frenchwoman were far from over. Mauresmo denied Hingis the first set as the Swiss woman served for it in the ninth game, breaking her to love, 4-5.

Mauresmo held to level at 5-all and soon got the set to a tie-breaker. But that's where Hingis excelled, reaching 6-0 before her opponent earned a single point in the decider.

In the second set, Hingis quickly found her way with two consecutive breaks near the end to take final control. On the men's side, Tommy Haas will play world number one Andre Agassi today after coming through 63, 6-2 over Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia.

Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador won a hardcourt marathon between South Americans more at home on clay as he finally outlasted Brazil's French Open semi-finalist Fernando Meligeni 6-4, 2-6, 16-14.

Golf: A strong recovery is needed at Malone, Belfast, today if Donabate favourite Mary McKenna is to win the British Women's Senior Open amateur championship at her first attempt. McKenna posted a disappointing 83 - 11 over par - yesterday for a 159 aggregate for the 36 holes and is seven strokes off the pace going into the final round.

Leading the way and chasing her sixth title is former England captain and past Curtis Cup player Angela Uzielli, who yesterday gave a steady performance for a 77 and a two-round total of 152.

She sets out for her last round at lunchtime today with a four-stroke advantage over Scotland's Joan Marshall and Anne Biggs from Tyneside. Valerie Hassett of Ennis, who won this crown in 1996 and has been runner-up for the past two seasons, fired a lacklustre 82 yesterday for a 160 aggregate, but Irish captain Jane Allen, from Royal Portrush, moved boldly up the leaderboard with an encouraging 78 and lies in joint fifth place with McKenna.