X-Hingis X-Leave The List : send 'leave hingis' to tennis@aussie.ch X-ListMember: branko.matuza@ck.tel.hr [hingis@mail.aussie.ch] Hi Hingis Fans, especially french speaking hingis fans, should check out this homepage: http://perso.club-internet.fr/thibault/martina.htm US OPEN New York ================ Quarter Final: Martina Hingis defeated Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6:2 6:3 Next Opponent: Lindsay Davenport Note: Seles is out of the tournament (lost against Spirlea) DOUBLES ========= 3rd Round: Hingis / Sanchez def. Kournikova / Likh. 6:4 6:4 Quarter Final: Hingis / Sanchez def. Martinez/Tarabini 4:0 retired. REPORT ======= (from yahoo.tennis.com) Thursday September 4 3:33 PM EDT Hingis leads new wave into Open semifinals By Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuter) - The new wave in women's tennis has turned the tide at the National Tennis Center leaving Martina Hingis, a mere 16-year-old, as the only battle-hardened Grand Slam semifinalist among the final four at the U.S. Open. Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Hingis, a most worthy headliner in Friday's fights for a place in the finals, goes against American nemesis Lindsay Davenport, while Romanian Irina Spirlea takes on 17-year-old Open rookie Venus Williams. After years and years of seeing the form charts hold while waiting for predictable showdowns at the end, this year's semifinals present new faces, underlining the new depth in the game and foreshadowing the rivalries of the future. Steffi Graf, expected back next season after recovering from knee surgery, and Monica Seles, out of shape and distracted by her father's battle with cancer, have been fixtures of Grand Slam final fours in the past. The new crop of contenders may make it crowded at the top in the women's game. The final four women combine for an average age of 19. Davenport and Spirlea have patiently climbed the ladder to success, while Williams has exploded on the Grand Slam scene, riding her extraordinary athleticism and power to the first women's semifinals berth claimed by a non seed in 21 years. At the pinnacle still is Hingis, who has been virtually unbeatable this season and is the only player in the field yet to drop a set in her first five matches. The Swiss sensation had posted a 56-2 WTA Tour singles record coming into the Open, not counting three wins to start the year at the Hopman Cup, where she beat Spirlea in her opening match. Top-seeded Hingis, however, faces her toughest opponent in Davenport. The 21-year-old Davenport, who signalled her promise by winning the 1996 Olympic gold medal, has battled Hingis even, past and present. The American is 3-3 overall against Hingis -- with all six matches going three sets -- and 1-1 this season. Sixth-seeded Davenport, one of only two players to beat Hingis this year, lost to the teenager on hardcourt in the semifinals at Stanford this summer. But she bounced back two weeks later to beat the Swiss number one on the same surface in the last four at Los Angeles. ``She hits it very hard from the baseline,'' Hingis said about why Davenport has given her trouble. ``She is very aggressive and she doesn't give you that many opportunities to do something yourself.'' Davenport, who has won four tournaments this year including the Atlanta run-up event prior to the Open, said, ``I have wins over Martina, so that will help my confidence. I do believe I can beat her.'' Williams, her braided hair covered in red, white and blue beads, and Spirlea have never played against each other, offering another aspect to the nature of this year's Open semifinals. Spirlea, 23, ousted second-seed Seles, fifth-seed Amanda Coetzer and Russian up-and-comer Anna Kournikova along the way. The Romanian, who reached the quarters at the Australian Open, took special pleasure in removing Kournikova, who she felt had commanded attention beyond her results because of her good looks and mystique. Spirlea gets another chance to give the younger generation a comeuppance when she faces Williams. Williams, at 6-foot-2 one of the more imposing women's players, has long been touted as the next great American women's players but was slow to show off her promise. Coached by her father, Richard, and chaperoned by mother Oracene, Williams has been brought along patiently and the process appears to be paying off at the Open. ``It is definitely a great accomplishment for my first Open,'' said Williams, who lifted herself up the Arthur Ashe Stadium wall to kiss her mother after beating France's Sandrine Testud in the quarters. Bye, Markus. ================================================================== Martina Hingis Mailinglist ================================================================== Send comments, suggestions, questions to: markus@active.ch On the WWW: http://martina.webmrkt.com (princess of the wta) http://markusd.aussie.ch (private homepage) On IRC: look for MarkusD on IRCNet (irc.stealth.net) My postal address: Markus Doerig, Zuercherstrasse 6, CH-8640 Rapperswil. Switzerland. ==================================================================