GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) – Martin Hingis looks across the net and sees opponents with rippling muscles.

Not that she’s worried – she suspects her game has enough savvy to make her comeback a success.

Savvy was not enough, however, to carry her through Friday’s semifinal – a 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 loss to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.

After three victories, this was the 25-year-old Swiss star’s first defeat since beginning a new chapter in her tennis life.

“I’m very proud and happy about it,” she said of her play at the Australian women’s hard-court tournament. “In the 10 days I think I’ve made some great progress.

Hingis, a former No. 1 player with five Grand Slam singles titles, left the tour three years ago because of foot, heal and ankle injuries.

Now there’s a new ailment – a hip strain from Friday’s match.

Still, she is encouraged. She received a wild card for this tournament at Royal Pines, and the anxiety she felt before starting play was gone once she was stroking the ball again.

“You just have general doubts about yourself when you see those big strong girls and here I come,” she said. “I’m probably half the size of most of them. … They’re all much more muscular but I’ve got the skills and the game and I showed that this week.”

Next stop is the Sydney International. Then, beginning Jan. 16, comes the Australian Open, a major she won three times.

On the Gold Coast, Hingis beat Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela, Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic and Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain.

After easily winning the first set Friday, Hingis looked ready to advance to the final against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic before the hip injury – a left flexor strain – did her in. She pulled out of her semifinal doubles match with Tatiana Golovin of Russia because of the injury.

“I’ve got a couple of days’ rest now, so I’ll just try to flush it out before next week,” Hingis said. “I’ve got some time.”

Hingis said she tried to get through the singles semifinal.

“As a player and a competitor you try to overcome things like that and still play until the end of the match,” she said. “I don’t want to take anything away from Pennetta – she played a great match. I was able to compete with her.

“It was great tennis and everyone enjoyed it,” she added. “You can’t always expect everything to be perfect with your body when you haven’t done that much in three years.”

All in all, Hingis is satisfied.

“If I was to evaluate this tournament right away, I’m very happy and very positive about what I’ve achieved this week,” she said. “I don’t think anybody expected me to come out like this. So it’s pretty good.”

AP-ES-01-06-06 1403EST