NOTEBOOK: Hingis says mixed with Federer was an impossible dream

Jan 26, 2012, 0:41 GMT

Melbourne - Martina Hingis has said that calling off the proposed dream London Olympic pairing with fellow Swiss Roger Federer was as much for his own sanity as her lack of true match preparation after being out of game for four seasons.

'I played the US Open in 1996 in all three disciplines themselves, and it was crazy,' the three-time Australian Open winner told Zurich's Sonntags Zeitung. 'I was playing from morning till night and lost in the semis.

'Roger would have had to play 15 matches in nine days, that's even worse than at a Grand Slam.'

Hingis, 31, who played in the Legends doubles at the Australian Open, said that she and Federer made a joint decision not to play. Federer will be taking on singles and doubles, where he won the gold with Stanislas Wawrinka at Beijing, 2008.

Hingis, who left the sport in late 2007, would have had to jump through bureaucratic hoops to have been eligible to compete. 'I've not played an officials match for four years and in London I'd be competing with the best in the world, including Serena Williams and Andy Roddick.

'Mixed for me is the fastest and most difficult discipline. The pressure is always on the woman to hold serve, you must be extremely good.

'I would have had to start preparing six months ago and also play Fed Cup for Switzerland. Roger already has two targets, in singles and doubles. I can't just show and say 'cuckoo, here am I,' and everyone is suddenly afraid. There is a very special pressure at the Olympics.'

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NOTEBOOK: Djokovic says Murray-Lendl pairing could work out well =

Melbourne (dpa) - While Novak Djokovic wishes rival Andy Murray every success as the Scot begins work with new coach Ivan Lendl, the world number one Serb warns that seeking paid advice from a former great was not his own path to success.

'For last six years, and I've tried to be more creative, get some more experience from the tennis legends, from Todd Martin, from Mark Woodforde. I tried to work on some specific shots in my game: serve, volley, and all. 'It didn't turn out to be the best possible solution for me. I realised in the end that the only way is to be very simple, to have the same team of people that I've had over the years. I have lots of trust in them.

'For me, they are the best, best in what they do. They're very suitable to me, to my career, my personality. That's what matters the most.'

The Australian Open top seed said that Murray and Lendl could well be a good team - he's not the one to make that judgement as he heads into a semi-final with the number four Scot on Friday.

'I guess Andy winning a title in Brisbane and reaching semi-finals here says enough, says that matchup is good. From my perspective it's good to see a legend, one of the greatest players ever to play the game being around the tour again.'

Djokovic also said that he's been up to some small mischief. 'I've been trying to convince him (Lendl) to play my coach (former player Marian Vajda) a set or two. My coach hasn't been practising a lot, so he needs to work more.'