KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Top seed Martina Hingis and No. 3 Venus Williams each put off-court distractions behind them
to record impressive wins Tuesday and set up a tantalizing
semifinal showdown at the Ericsson Open.
Hingis, who has been subpoenaed to appear in a Florida
court at the trial of a man accused of stalking her, struggled
early then found her best game, sweeping 10 consecutive games to
speed into the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-0 demolition of No. 10 seed Anke Huber.
|  | | Venus Williams defeated Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals at the Ericsson Open. Williams won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. |
Williams put aside the racism controversy swirling around
her family long enough to post a surprisingly easy 6-2, 6-3 win
over Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia.
"I'm really looking forward to playing Venus again," said
Hingis, who will face Williams for the first time since romping
past her archrival 6-1, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open final.
Williams extended her winning streak at this event to 16 matches
with her victory over No. 21 Dokic, which lasted just 55 minutes.
The third-seeded American has not lost here since 1997, when she
was beaten by eventual winner Hingis in the third round. She
claimed consecutive crowns here in 1998 and 1999 but missed last
year's event due to tendinitis in both wrists.
"I think I played a lot better and a lot more controlled,
especially compared to yesterday," Williams said. "I think I
was able to serve a lot better, too. So, I was really happy."
Said Hingis: "I think she definitely wants to prove herself after what
happened last week with her," Hingis said of Williams'
last-minute withdrawal before an Indian Wells semifinal with
sister Serena due to tendinitis in her knee that led to
questions about the legitimacy of the injury.
"I think there will even be a little extra pressure on
her," Hingis said.
"People, the fans maybe can't understand what happened in
Australia, it was 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour. They probably
expect me to win again but I don't know, it's always hard to
play her."
Despite owning an 11-1 record against Huber, Hingis said
she was caught off guard by the German, who scored an early
service break on way to a 5-3 lead.
But with Huber serving for the set, Hingis, who has reached
the final of five of six tournaments this season, suddenly woke
from her slumber to sweep the next 10 games.
"The first set was close, she had set point, who knows what
could have happened," said Hingis. "But I definitely started
picking up my game after that."
Hingis admitted after her quarterfinal win, that she has
had other things besides tennis on her mind this week.
Hingis confirmed at her post-match interview that she
will testify in court next Monday at the trial of Dubravko
Rajcevic, who has been accused of stalking the tennis star.
Following complaints from Hingis and her family, the
Croatian-born Rajcevic was arrested during last year's
tournament and released on bail after being warned to stay
away. Two days later he was spotted again at the tournament and
taken into custody, his bail set at $2 million.
"I'm trying to prepare myself for it," said Hingis, who has
been followed around the world by the 45-year-old Rajcevic.
"It's definitely on my mind. But I hope soon as possible to get
it done with and it will be over forever and I won't have to
think about it anymore."
Information from The Associated Press, SportsTicker and Reuters was used in this report. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
|
ALSO SEE
Tuesday's results
Agassi advances to quarters without stepping on court
Hingis says Williams' claims of racism 'nonsense'
Richard Williams alleges racist crowd at Indian Wells
|
