By Vivienne Christie
Martina Hingis and Radek Stepanek have ended their almost year-long engagement, with Stepanek revealing the split through an ATP spokesperson after his loss to Roger Federer in the Montreal Masters semi-final.
“Radek asked me to pass on a message announcing that he and Hingis have split up, they will remain good friends, and that is all I’ve to say,” said the spokesman.
The news follows a year of mixed fortunes for the two players, with Hingis struggling to find form after sustaining a back injury early in the year. After sitting out the French Open the Swiss star was defeated in the third round of Wimbledon and the second round of San Diego. Hingis is a late withdrawal from this week’s Canadian Open in Toronto, meaning that she is unable to defend the rankings points she collected after finishing runner-up to Ana Ivanovic in 2006.
Stepanek, on the other hand, has found some stunning form after recovering from the neck injury that kept him off the tour for an extended period. The 28-year-old Czech defeated James Blake to win his second career title in Los Angeles last month and notched two semi-finals in recent events, adding Gstaad to his last-four Montreal showing.