Tennis: Two-year sentence for Hingis stalker

A man convicted of stalking tennis star Martina Hingis was today beginning a two-year jail sentence in Florida.

Dubravko Rajcevic, a 46-year-old Croatian-born naval architect from Australia, is likely to be freed in least than a year, having already served 375 days since his arrest at the 2000 Ericsson Open near Miami.

‘‘I’m one more year in jail?’’ Rajcevic asked Circuit Judge Kevin Emas as sentence was passed. ‘‘I’m not happy.’’

Rajcevic will be on probation for two years after his release, but he will be subject to deportation to Australia at that point.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum four-year term but told the judge that Hingis’s family would accept two if the sentence included an order that he stay away from her.

Emas took pains to explain he was barring both direct and indirect contact with Hingis, her family and her manager in person, or by any other means.

Hingis found out about the sentencing soon after winning her third-round match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island.

‘‘This is like the final day. I definitely don’t have to worry about that any more and I won’t be questioned about it,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m definitely very, very happy. I went through it, and now it’s over.’’

Hingis declined comment when asked what she thought about the sentence.

Rajcevic, 46, beamed when the 20-year-old Swiss player came to court early this month and later rationalised her negative testimony by saying she must have found a new love during his time in jail.

‘‘I am not interested any more in Martina Hingis because she turned back on me. She lied in the courtroom,’’ Rajcevic said. He now says he will sign a court order promising to stay away from Hingis for 150 years because he’s no longer interested in her.

He spoke at length to the judge before sentencing and said that for him, Hingis ‘‘doesn’t exist any more.’’ But he then went on to recount his previous encounters with Hingis.

A psychological evaluation showed that Rajcevic’s delusional state was worse than when he was examined last summer, but he rejected the findings sealed by the court.

‘‘I am not delusional,’’ Rajcevic said. ‘‘I am not mentally ill.’’

Although the sentence requires Rajcevic to submit to psychological evaluations, prosecutor Chris Calkin said he doesn’t believe Rajcevic can legally be required to accept treatment unless his condition severely worsens.