Path to title clear for Hingis

MARTINA Hingis’s path to the Australian hardcourt title cleared dramatically yesterday when she survived a tough quarter-final and top seed Patty Schnyder was knocked out.

Five-times grand slam champion Hingis, making her return to professional tennis after three years in retirement, was forced into a third set by Spain’s Nuria Llagostera Vives before running out a 6-2 4-6 6-0 winner. In the last singles match on centre court, Czech Lucie Safarova then beat Schnyder 6-4 6-3 to end the Swiss world number seven’s title defence.Hingis will meet fourth-seeded Flavia Pennetta in the semis after the Italian overcame Hingis’s doubles partner Tatiana Golovin of France 6-2 5-7 6-3.”I know I can last three sets now, especially mentally,” Hingis told reporters.”That was the biggest weapon I had today.”I would’ve been pretty hard on myself if I had lost this match because I had it totally under control.”Teenager Safarova will meet third seed Dinara Safina in the last four after the Russian overwhelmed Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-3.Safarova, 18, claimed her second seed this week after beating sixth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan in the first round.Schnyder was frequently forced into errors through Safarova’s blistering groundstrokes and threw her racket in disgust twice during the match.Hingis, a wildcard entrant at the tournament on Queensland’s Gold Coast, beat world number 62 Maria Venti Kabachi 6-2 6-1 and number 35 Klara Koukalova 6-3 6-2 in earlier rounds.But the 50th-ranked Vives, who had beaten second seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round on Wednesday, proved a tougher opponent and broke Hingis at 4-4 in the second to send the match into a deciding set.The players took a 10-minute break under the WTA’s extreme heat rule before the final set began and when it did get underway, Hingis dominated.Vives refused to give in, though, despite being 5-0 down and she forced Hingis to five match points before the Swiss finally broke her resistance.”I can only play match-by-match and get out there and compete,” added Hingis in reference to comments from world number one Lindsay Davenport and number two Kim Clijsters that she may find it too hard to come back.”You always have those doubts but I can only show them the results.Either you belong to the top or you don’t.”- Nampa-ReutersIn the last singles match on centre court, Czech Lucie Safarova then beat Schnyder 6-4 6-3 to end the Swiss world number seven’s title defence.Hingis will meet fourth-seeded Flavia Pennetta in the semis after the Italian overcame Hingis’s doubles partner Tatiana Golovin of France 6-2 5-7 6-3.”I know I can last three sets now, especially mentally,” Hingis told reporters.”That was the biggest weapon I had today.”I would’ve been pretty hard on myself if I had lost this match because I had it totally under control.”Teenager Safarova will meet third seed Dinara Safina in the last four after the Russian overwhelmed Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-3.Safarova, 18, claimed her second seed this week after beating sixth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan in the first round.Schnyder was frequently forced into errors through Safarova’s blistering groundstrokes and threw her racket in disgust twice during the match.Hingis, a wildcard entrant at the tournament on Queensland’s Gold Coast, beat world number 62 Maria Venti Kabachi 6-2 6-1 and number 35 Klara Koukalova 6-3 6-2 in earlier rounds.But the 50th-ranked Vives, who had beaten second seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round on Wednesday, proved a tougher opponent and broke Hingis at 4-4 in the second to send the match into a deciding set.The players took a 10-minute break under the WTA’s extreme heat rule before the final set began and when it did get underway, Hingis dominated.Vives refused to give in, though, despite being 5-0 down and she forced Hingis to five match points before the Swiss finally broke her resistance.”I can only play match-by-match and get out there and compete,” added Hingis in reference to comments from world number one Lindsay Davenport and number two Kim Clijsters that she may find it too hard to come back.”You always have those doubts but I can only show them the results.Either you belong to the top or you don’t.”- Nampa-Reuters