TENNIS: Andy Murray rolled into round two of the Heineken Open in Auckland yesterday with plaudits for his handsome victory and criticism of his momentary lack of good judgment.
Britain's number three was a 7-5, 6-2 winner against Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen - the world number 62 beating the player ranked one place above him.
And while his courtside faux pas did not quite elevate him alongside Richard Krajicek in the foot-in-mouth stakes, for a brief while it made the 18-year-old Scot a target for hecklers.
"I think we both played like women in the first set," Murray told the post-match press conference.
In tennis terms, Krajicek aced that remark at Wimbledon 14 years ago. "I may have exaggerated a bit when I said that 80 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs," said Krajicek.
"What I meant to say was 75 per cent of the top 100 women are fat pigs."
That remark from the Dutchman has taken a career of explaining away, while for Murray the justification for his remark was swift, and apparently reasonable. When quizzed further about what he had said, Murray stressed he was referring back to comments made by Russian Hopman Cup player Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"I was watching a Hopman Cup match on TV from here and Kuznetsova said it after there were nine breaks in the first set, so that's why I said it," said Murray.
Next up for Murray, most probably tomorrow, is the Croatian Mario Ancic, a big-serving player who destroyed Tim Henman in straight sets at Wimbledon 2004.
Meanwhile, Lleyton Hewitt was on the verge of quitting his first-round match against Vince Spadea at the Sydney International yesterday before rallying to beat the American 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The Australian felt ill and close to exhaustion late in the first set. He took a 10-minute injury break when he was trailing 5-2 but decided to soldier on despite losing the opening set.
"I've obviously got some kind of bug. I actually thought it was getting a bit dangerous out there to keep playing on," he said.
Hewitt said the only time he had ever felt worse on the court was during the 2002 Hopman Cup when he was diagnosed with chicken pox.
"That was probably a little worse but today was right up there. My energy levels were just right down," he said.
"There were stages when I was tossing up whether it was really worth it with Melbourne next week.
"But hopefully it's at its worst today. That's what I'm hoping. If it keeps getting better then I can put up with it."
Hewitt's game only marginally improved throughout the rest of the match with Spadea. He made 57 unforced errors and served 10 double faults but his fighting spirit and tactical nous enabled him to scrape through.
Justine Henin-Hardenne eased past Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round of the Sydney International yesterday to hand the former world number one her second straight defeat since announcing her comeback.
The Belgian made light work of their much-anticipated clash, cruising to victory in a little over an hour. "I knew it was going to be a tough first round . . . but I was probably not at my best today," Hingis told a news conference.
Hingis, who was knocked out of the semi-finals of last week's Australian women's hardcourt championship by Flavia Pennetta in her first serious tournament in more than three years, showed some fleeting glimpses of her old form but she still struggled to produce the standard of tennis that saw her dominate the sport in the late 1990s.
