The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Hingis shocks Sharapova to enter final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 05, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Hingis shocks Sharapova to enter final

TOKYO: Martina Hingis stunned top seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 at the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday to reach her first final since coming out of retirement.

The former world No.1, a Tokyo winner in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002, outclassed defending champion Sharapova in every department to stake a place in her seventh Pan Pacific final.

Hingis will face another Russian opponent, second seed Elena Dementieva — in Sunday's championship match. Dementieva beat compatriot Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second semifinal.

Exudes confidence

``It feels like being back in time,'' Hingis said at a news conference. ``I knew I still had some game in me. You just have to start believing and I believe I still can play really good tennis. It took me three years to recharge my body and my brain. This week I've shown a better game than at the Australian Open. I'm improving with every tournament.''

Sharapova, who was just 15 when chronic ankle problems forced the Swiss into early retirement in 2002, had no answer to Hingis's guile and precision.

Hingis returned to the game last month, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and winning the mixed doubles title with India's Mahesh Bhupathi.

Sublime touch

The `Swiss Miss' reproduced some of the form that saw her claim five Grand Slam singles titles between 1997 and 1999, mixing power with sublime touch and making Sharapova look ordinary at times.

Sharapova even resorted to delaying tactics, turning her back several times as Hingis prepared to serve to slow her down — but to no avail.

Hingis secured the crucial break to go 4-3 up in the first set when her backhand clipped the net-cord and stopped dead.

The second set was all about Hingis. She broke in the third game when Sharapova netted a backhand and again to go ahead 4-1 after a wild forehand from the world No. 4. ``She still has a lot of experience and feel for the game,'' said a dejected Sharapova. ``In the second set I didn't really have that fighting spirit I usually have. You know, 'Could've, would've, should've' but didn't.'' The 25-year-old Hingis was unranked three weeks ago but climbed to 117th after her strong run in Melbourne. Her victory over Sharapova will lift Hingis to just outside the top 50.

Lopez's day out

At Delray Beach (U.S.), top seed Andre Agassi was upset by Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach championship.

The ninth-ranked Agassi, playing in his first tournament of the year, never found his comfort level in the 74-minute match, which took place in windy conditions and with skies threatening rain on Friday.

Agassi fell behind 4-1 in the opening set, but was able to fight back to win three of the four next games.

The 112th-ranked Garcia-Lopez took control of the match in the 10th game, when he broke Agassi on a seventh set point when Agassi smacked a backhand crosscourt wide.

In the second set, Agassi struggled to hold on to his serve in the second and fourth games, and from 2-2 watched Garcia-Lopez win the last four games of the match.

Agassi's upcoming schedule is slated to take him to tournaments in San Jose, Las Vegas, Indian Wells and Miami.

Third-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany and eighth-seeded Vince Spadea of the US will meet in the semifinal.

Haas downed seventh-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3, 6-2. Spadea reached his second straight Delray Beach semis with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea.

The results: At Tokyo: WTA Pan Pacific Open (semifinals): Martina Hingis bt Maria Sharapova 6-3,6-1; Elena Dementieva bt Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

At Delray Beach (U.S.): Delray Beach international championship: (quarterfinals): Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-2; Xavier Malisse bt Florian Mayer 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-3; Tommy Haas bt Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-2; Vincent Spadea bt Lee Hyung-Taik 6-3, 6-3.

At Vina Del Mar (Chile): Vina del Mar ATP tournament: (quarterfinals): Jose Acasuso bt Leos Friedl 3-6, 6-1, 7-5; Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo bt Albert Montanes 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Nicolas Massu bt Carlos Cuadrado 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.

At Zagreb (Croatia): PBZ Zagreb indoor tournament: (quarterfinals): Novak Djokovic bt Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-3; Tim Henman bt Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4; Ivan Ljubicic bt Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2; Stefan Koubek bt Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-3 — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail