Mauresmo and Hingis - "one year after"
(Jan 13th 2000 - Sydney)

A year on and French powerhouse Amelie Mauresmo still has not made up with Martina Hingis, who called her "half a man" at the Australian Open.
Mauresmo won an all French muscle-match with Mary Pierce at the warm-up Sydney International on Thursday and will play Hingis in the semifinals after the world No.1 ousted Dominique Van Roost, who retired with a thigh strain after losing the first set.

"It's not like we're real good friends. It's okay but nothing special," she said. Asked if they were on speaking terms, she said: "There's nothing special."

It was at Melbourne's Australian Open in January last year that Mauresmo hit the headlines, making it to the semifinals. But it was her private life and the revelation of a lesbian relationship that grabbed attention. Her acknowledgement of her sexual orientation resulted in snide remarks about her physical strength. Her powerful shoulders and fierce shots drew unflattering comments from Lindsay Davenport and particularly from Hingis -- who finally brought her sensational run to a close.

Davenport claimed Mauresmo played like a man, and Hingis said she was "half a man," a remark she later denied making, even though it was recorded on tape. Hingis went on the defensive Thursday, insisting no bad blood remained. "We're not like best friends on tour, but in the locker room we even talk -- well, not talk that much, but it's like everything is resolved," she said, adding the 20-year-old still needed to prove she was a class act. "She still has to prove herself by winning a big tournament," she said. "Of course she made the finals (of the Australian Open) last year, but now it will show if she can really stay in the top level, if she can do the same things again."

Mauresmo said Thursday she was trying not to think too much about Melbourne and the events that propelled her into the spotlight. "First I am going to try and play my semis tomorrow, not try to focus too much on Melbourne and try to get the rhythm back. Try to think about this week first," she said. "But I've proved last year that I can play on the surface that's in Melbourne."
A one-time gym-junkie who spent over an hour a day bulking up, Mauresmo now concentrates more on running for fitness and prevention of injuries, which dogged her last season. "I have technical and tennis goals I want to reach," Mauresmo said. "It's being more consistent from the beginning until the end of the year. Last year was a bit up and down, so this year I want to be consistent." After last year's mighty performance at Melbourne Park, Mauresmo won just one title at Bratislava, although she made the final of the Paris Indoors.

Pierce, meanwhile, said her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Mauresmo would not affect her Grand Slam preparations.
"I'm not worried at all," she said. "My serve, I think, needs to be more consistent and (I) just (need to) let my body recover a little bit. "I just know what I need to work on, have a few days to work on things before the tournament starts."