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Published -- June 02 2006 7:16AM CDT || AP

PARIS(AP) Martina Hingis overcame a brief lapse in the second set and beat Zuzana Ondraskova 6-1, 6-3 Friday to reach the third round of the French Open.

The match was postponed Thursday when rain backed up the schedule. Chilly but sunny weather greeted the players when they finally took the court, and Hingis won in 49 minutes.

"I really played very well," she said. "Served well, moved well, everything. It all is coming together again. I just hope it's going to continue like that. I just want to save the best for last."

A five-time Grand Slam champion, the No. 12-seeded Hingis is mounting a career comeback from injuries and is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2001. It's the only major event she has yet to win.

No. 2 Kim Clijsters also waited a day to play before beating Conchita Martinez Granados 6-0, 6-3 in 55 minutes. No. 7 Patty Schnyder rallied past Julia Vakulenko 2-6, 7-5, 6-0.

The Hingis and Clijsters matches started at the same time as the center court showdown between former champions Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero. The men completed only seven games before Hingis and Clijsters finished.

Hingis won the first nine points, committed only three unforced errors in the first 12 games and led 4-0 in the second set.

But then her forehand went awry. Ondraskova, ranked 114th, won three consecutive games and had a point for 4-all before Hingis steadied her strokes and closed out the match.

"You lose a little concentration, a little focus," Hingis said. "Then you have to be tense again, not let it go too far and skid away from you once you're playing so well."

Clijsters' match followed a similar pattern: She won the first eight games, lost three in a row and then won four straight.

"I wasn't making the right decisions at the right time in those few games," Clijsters said. "Lucky enough, I got my game back to where it should be, so I ended well."

MORE:
QUOTEClijsters' opponent Saturday will be No. 26 Anabel Medina Garrigues, who beat Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. Hingis plays Ivana Lisjak, who eliminated Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-4.

Ranked in the top 20 and off the charts when it comes to charisma, Marcos Baghdatis is a hero back home in Cyprus and a fan favorite wherever he plays. But he's struggling to cope with his newfound celebrity, and he failed at Roland Garros.

An overnight sensation when he was runner-up at the Australian Open in January, Baghdatis lasted only two rounds in Paris, losing Thursday to Julien Benneteau, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4.

"It's been tough for me after Australia _ a lot of questions in my head, a lot of doubts," Baghdatis said. "It's not so easy. I think I need some time. I need some experience to find my way through."

Baghdatis, who trains in Paris, showed the same engaging personality that won him fans in Melbourne, frequently gesturing and shouting between points. But the shotmaking lacked the sizzle he showed Down Under.

As a result, he lost for the first time in seven career five-setters.

"I had a head this big full of questions," he said. "I'm not looking at the ball. I'm thinking about what people think, what people will say. I don't feel at ease."

A lot of players were on edge due to another day of chilly, damp weather. A rain delay of 1 hour, 50 minutes backed up the schedule and forced 10 singles matches to be postponed or suspended until Friday.

"It was difficult to play good tennis today," said two-time French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, who won in straight sets.

But for Baghdatis, a disappointing clay season is over. Hampered by injuries, he hasn't reached a semifinal since Australia.

Seeded 19th, he served poorly against Benneteau and had 54 unforced errors.

"Everybody's waiting for me to play well, so it's tougher," he said. "It's a nice challenge. I like it for the moment. I'm trying to work hard and try to find a way."


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