Tennis: Kournikova loses comeback match

Anna Kournikova lost her first singles match since February when Australia's Nicole Pratt knocked her out of the $750,000 Acura Classic in California.

Kournikova, who has recently recovered from a stress fracture of her foot, was beaten 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-3 by 28-year-old Pratt, ranked 74th in the world.

Despite the defeat, Kournikova, the tournament's number nine seed, was happy with the way she played in her comeback match

The 20-year-old said: "For the first time I played, it was not so bad.

"I was fresher in the first set and had difficulty finishing it off. She is a tough player. She doesn't give you any free points. The ball just keeps coming back."

Martina Hingis cruised through with a 6-1, 6-4 second-round victory over American Lilia Osterloh.

The world number one took 61 minutes to dispose of the 1997 NCAA singles champion.

It was Hingis' first match since she lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

She said: "I took time to practice and now I'm 100 per cent mentally and physically back together."