Tennis: Hingis blames 'stalker' for Wimbledon failure

Martina Hingis has told a court a stalker caused her to be knocked out in the first round at the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The 20-year-old Swiss who lost in the first round in 1999 said she blamed her defeat in part on Dubravko Rajcevic.

Rajcevic, 46, an Australian naval engineer, is on trial in Miami and faces a year in jail if convicted of stalking Hingis over almost two years.

Hingis, who won Wimbledon in 1997, said she had been pursued with flowers and telephone calls by Rajcevic and was forced to confront him in a bid to stop him.

"I told him he should go away and get out of my life," Hingis told the court. "He would not believe me."

Her confrontation with the stalker who had dogged her since January 1999 came just weeks before she played at Wimbledon in June 1999.

At the tournament, Hingis told the court, she lost in the first round. "I never do that," she said. "I never did in a Grand Slam tournament until that time. Part of it was because of him."

Rajcevic laughed and shook his head as Hingis gave her testimony,.

He was warned by the judge he would be removed from the courtroom if he did not stay silent after a series of outbursts and trying to engage Hingis in conversation.

Rajcevic claims he wanted to start a romantic relationship with Hingis and did not threaten her.