Wednesday, August 2 2006 17:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

San Diego: Comeback queen Martina Hingis beat Meilen Tu 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday in her first Southern California match since 2001, reaching to the third round of a US$1.34 million WTA hardcourt event.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Hingis, who came back to the sport after a three-year absence, advanced after a first-round bye in 66 minutes over the 91st-ranked American.

Hingis turned back the clock and improved to 15-3 at the tournament. She staved off six break points while breaking three times in the comfortable victory.

In their junior days, Tu beat Hingis in the final of the 2004 US Open juniors, a match which Hingis certainly recalls. But her game has moved on in the past dozen years.

"When they were reading my accomplishments in the (pre-match) warmup, it sounded like a fairytale. That was a part of my life. " said 13th-ranked Hingis.

"When I left tennis and did something else, that was another part, But now, I feel more like a rookie again rather than a comeback," she said.

Hingis next plays either Italy's Flavia Pennetta or American Jamea Jackson.

The eighth-seeded Swiss won the tournament on her debut as a teenager during the magical 1997 season in which she lifted three of the four majors. Her last appearance was a semi-final run five years ago against Monica Seles.

"The fun is back but only when you win," said Hingis. "I've worked hard for the last two weeks," she said.

"But your recovery time is not the same as when you are 17. I used to get back onto the court after an hour or two hours of rest. Now, I take three or four.

"I wasn't that tired today but my game will come around even more after a few more matches. I have to work more on conditioning, train in a different way now," she said.

Hingis, 25, cemented her return to the game with the Rome title in May, but is starting afresh in San Diego in hopes of erasing memories of a third-round Wimbledon upset loss to Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Sugiyama, last year's finalist here, suffered a surprise loss earlier as she went out in the first round to Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 7-5.

A pair of Croatians crashed out, with Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine ousting Ivana Lisjak 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) and Russian Anna Chakvetadze defeating Jelena Kostanic 6-4, 6-3.

The US Open tune-up's field is headed by Belgian Kim Clijsters, who began her summer with a hardcourt title at the weekend at Stanford.

Russian second seed Maria Sharapova was starting up again after Wimbledon as she prepared to face compatriot Vasilisa Bardina.