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Crushing Hingis destroys Venus 6-1, 6-1 in semifinals
Updated: Thursday January 25, 2001 4:30 AM
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -- Top seed Martina Hingis will play Jennifer Capriati in the final of the Australian Open after she crushed Venus Williams 6-1, 6-1 in a lopsided semifinal on Thursday. The win over the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion was a personal milestone for Hingis, who beat Venus's younger sister Serena in an epic three-set quarter-final but had never before beaten both Williams sisters in the same tournament. "I think I'm in very good shape and I felt like I still had it in me," said Hingis, who hasn't won a grand slam singles title in two years. "The more you make them play the more you're going to give them a chance to miss." "I just tried to be very concentrated and play my own game." World number one Hingis raced through the first set as third-seeded Venus handed her easy points with 22 unforced errors -- two thirds of the total points Hingis won in the set. "I just had an off day," Williams said. "It just seemed like I wasn't really prepared today to hit as many balls as possible. "I guess I just didn't have what it took today and Martina did." Hingis broke Venus's serve in the second game of the first set when the American pushed an easy forehand volley long. "She was hitting a little bit wild today but I just didn't give her many chances," Hingis said. "She hits the ball hard when it goes in. I think she maybe tried to hit it a bit too hard." Williams broke back in the next game but she handed Hingis the advantage again straight away, serving a double fault to set up another break point which the Swiss duly converted into a 3-1 lead. Hingis broke again in the sixth game before serving out the set. "This year I've been very erratic. I just think I need more preparation time," Williams said. "I think she [Hingis] played it very well, I think she played her normal game." The second set followed the same pattern, Hingis breaking Venus in the opening game when Venus pushed a forehand long, one of many seemingly easy shots she sprayed out of court. She broke again in the fifth game for a 4-1 lead and then again to close out the match. "I don't think this can happen again. Normally I wouldn't [have] expected it to happen," Williams said. "I would love to win this title. Hopefully I'll be back next year and I'll probably take it home, who knows." Twelfth seed Capriati earlier upset defending champion Lindsay Davenport 6-3 6-4 in the first semifinal. Hingis will be playing in her fifth consecutive Australian Open final after winning the title from 1997-99 and losing to Davenport last year. Capriati will be playing in her first final of a grand slam tournament.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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