For all the talk about the difficulties Martina Hingis will face in her return to tennis, one would think the 25-year-old former world no. 1 and five-time Grand Slam winner was recently thawed from a 50-year deep freeze and plunked down into a field of muscle-bound women who might just as well eat her for lunch as beat her about a tennis court.

The women’s game has changed since the Swiss champion retired in 2002, but not all that much. There are more good players, more players who hit 110-mph serves and blistering groundstrokes, and more of them are Russian. This should not scare Hingis, 5-foot-7 in heels and feisty as they come. Need we remind you that Lindsay Davenport, approaching 30 and clomping along as slowly as ever, is the no. 1 player in the world at the moment. If Davenport can still succeed by dint of hard work and fearsome strokes, so can Hingis – provided her feet are truly healthy and she is serious about her fitness.

The result of Hingis’s first match at the Australian Open, a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of Vera Zvonareva, ranked no. 30, was better than anyone could have expected this early in her second career. Hingis, a wildcard in the draw, constructed points beautifully, hitting sharp angles, moving in for crisp volleys, and striking the ball cleanly time and again. In one 20-stroke rally, she stopped Zvonareva in her tracks with an inside-out backhand before moving in for a swinging forehand volley crosscourt. It must be said that the despondent Zvonareva hurried the match along – the woman could not even execute a proper smash of her racket, which several times bounced off the court and nipped at the Russian.

Hingis’s final stats tell a story not often heard in women’s tennis: 17 winners, 11 errors, and 16 of 20 points at the net (one of them a lovely overhead slice that spun away from her flailing opponent). It’s a line one often sees from Justine Henin-Hardenne, who meets Hingis’s artistry with ample firepower. While Hingis is not likely to transform herself into the high-octane Henin-Hardenne, she should have no trouble moving past an inferior player like Anastasia Myskina, ranked no. 14, and into the top 10.

Digest Hingis’s stats from Tuesday evening in Melbourne and ask yourself who has a brighter outlook in 2006, Hingis or Serena Williams? On Monday, the out-of-shape Williams barely defeated a woman ranked lower than Zvonareva, even though that woman had a bad day.

Hingis ostensibly left tennis in 2002 because her feet had given out on her. She undoubtedly suffered from a bit of burnout, too. In January of that year, she lost her third consecutive Australian Open final (she had won the previous three), this time to Jennifer Capriati in three sets played in 95-degree heat. She missed the French Open and Wimbledon after having surgery on her left ankle, and played poorly upon returning. She finished the season with a whimper in Germany, where she managed only four games against Elena Dementieva.

In 2000 and 2001,however,she proved that her brand of tennis – it could be said that the game she plays is actually tennis, while several other big hitters like Maria Sharapova play something far less interesting – could succeed against sluggers. A few examples:

At the Australian Open in 2001, Hingis defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 3-6, 8-6, and then Venus in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-1. Both Williams sisters were playing better tennis back then (that year,Venus won Wimbledon, where she defeated Henin-Hardenne, and the U.S. Open, over her sister). Hingis lost the Australian final to Capriati, 6-4, 6-3. In 2000, she lost to Venus Williams in the U.S. Open semifinal, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. For her career, Hingis holds a 10-14 record against Davenport, 6-7 against Serena, and 10-9 against Venus.

For the Hingis of today to challenge and on rare occasions defeat these top players, she must compensate for her lack of power and weak second serve (about 10 mph slower, on average, than her best rivals) with speed, quickness, and her mastery of strategy.This is why the condition of her feet and her fitness are so essential.

Hingis has blamed her former line of footwear for her injuries, but she could not have helped matters by playing as much tennis as she did. From 1998 to 2001, she played 80, 84, 87, and 75 singles matches, respectively, while also playing full seasons in doubles (57 matches in 1998, 36 in 1999, and 55 in 2000). If Hingis wants her comeback to last a few years, she ought take on a lighter schedule.

After three years off, Hingis is brimming with positive thoughts. Once a few of the game’s top players beat up on her, doubts may settle in. She has said that she wants to be among the best players on tour,if not the very best. As talented as she is, this may be too much to ask. Could she add another Grand Slam title to her collection? Possibly, depending on her draw and the condition of the field. If the best in the world are healthy and playing well, it is very unlikely that Hingis will be the last one standing at a major.

This week in Australia,Hingis should advance to the third round, where she likely would meet her former doubles partner, Mary Pierce (they won the French Open together in 2000).

It remains to be seen if Hingis can learn to accept the frustration inherent in routinely finishing less than first, an especially tiring result for a former champion of her caliber.This,more than anything else,might spell the end of her second act. Until then, a sport too long on bashers and too short on craft – not to mention personality – is lucky to have her back.

tperrotta@nysun.com

Australian Open – How the Seeds Fared

MEN – SECOND ROUND

Gaston Gaudio (8), ARG, def. Lars Burgsmuller, GER, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Ivan Ljubicic (7), CRO, def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, GER, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1

MEN – FIRST ROUND

Lleyton Hewitt (3), AUS, def. Robin Vik, CZE, 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Nikolay Davydenko (5), RUS, def. Ivo Karlovic, CRO, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Guillermo Coria (6), ARG, def. Victor Hanescu, ROM, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Alex Bogomolov Jr., USA, def. Fernando Gonzalez (9), CHI, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5.
Dominik Hrbaty (12), SLK, def. Oliver Marach, AST, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.
Tommy Haas, GER, def. Richard Gasquet (14), FRA, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
Juan Carlos Ferrero (15), ESP, def. Tomas Zib, CZE, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.
Nathan Healey, AUS, def. Filippo Volandri (20), ITA, 6-2, 6-3.
Nicolas Kiefer (21), GER, def. Paradorn Srichaphan, TAI, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2.
Luis Horna, PER, def. Gael Monfils (22), FRA, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.
Igor Andreev (23), RUS, def. Nicolas Almagro, ESP, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.
Olivier Rochus (24), BEL, def. Michael Llodra, FRA, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Sebastien Grosjean (25), FRA, def. Mark Philippoussis, AUS, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
Max Mirnyi (30), BRS, def. Thierry As cione, FRA, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-0.

WOMEN – SECOND ROUND

Lindsay Davenport (1), USA, def. Karolina Sprem, CRO, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Olga Savchuk, UKR, def. Jelena Jankovic (23), SER, 6-3, 6-4.

WOMEN – FIRST ROUND

Kim Clijsters (2), BEL, def. Cho Yoonjeong, KOR, 6-3, 6-0.
Amelie Mauresmo (3), FRA, def. Sun Tian Tian, CHN, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Yan Zi, CHN, def. Nathalie Dechy (11), FRA, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
Anastasia Myskina (12), RUS, def. Yuliana Fedak, UKR, 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Francesca Schiavone (15), ITA, def. Antonella Serra Zanetti, ITA, 6-2, 7-5.
Nicole Vaidisova (16), CZE, def. Anastasiya Yakimova, BRS, 6-1, 6-3.
Dinara Safina (19), RUS, def. Tathiana Garbin, ITA, 6-0, 6-1.
Flavia Pennetta (20), ITA, def. Cara Black, ZIM, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Ana Ivanovic (21), SER, def. Shenay Perry, USA, 6-4, 6-4.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (22), GER, def. Laura Pous Tio, ESP, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Marion Bartoli (27), FRA, def. Amy Frazier, USA, 6-3, 6-2.
Martina Hingis, SUI, def. Vera Zvonareva (30), RUS, 6-1, 6-2.
Gisela Dulko (31), ARG, def. Maret Ani, EST, 6-0, 7-6 (7).