NEW YORK — Five-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Hingis leads the 2013 class for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The other new members of the Hall announced Monday are: Cliff Drysdale, Charlie Pasarell and Ion Tiriac. Australian player Thelma Coyne Long's election was announced earlier. Hingis won 15 major titles, including nine in women's doubles and one in mixed. The first came at Wimbledon in women's doubles in 1996 at 15 years, 9 months, making her the youngest Grand Slam champion in tennis history. The Swiss star also was the youngest woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings, getting there in March 1997 at 16 1/2, and spent a total of 209 weeks in the top spot. Hingis spent 35 weeks at No. 1 in doubles, too. “She obviously had a Hall of Fame career,” said Serena Williams, who beat Hingis in the 1999 US Open final. “She achieved so much at such an early age and did so much for the sport, inspired me a lot to play.” In 1997, Hingis won singles titles at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open — and lost in the French Open final. She was honored as the WTA Tour Player of the Year and AP Female Athlete of the Year. She finished with 43 titles in singles and 37 in doubles. Her singles record was 548-133. Hingis also led Switzerland to its only Fed Cup final in 1998 before losing to Spain. Berdych back at Queen's World No. 6 Tomas Berdych will play the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event at Queens Club in June as he targets a repeat of his 2010 run to the final at the grasscourt slam. The Czech confirmed Tuesday that he would take part in the London event, now called the Aegon Championships, in a bid to sharpen his grasscourt skills after the European clay season. — Agencies
