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Perfectly scripted Hingis, Hewitt take seed-filled Adidas International finals
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Top-ranked Martina Hingis edged Lindsay Davenport, while Lleyton Hewitt made it back-to-back Adidas International titles when he erased Magnus Norman 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday's finals. Organizers said the Adidas International was the first time in the Open era that all finals, including men's and women's singles and doubles, had featured the No. 1 vs. No. 2 seeds. Hingis' 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 win against No. 2 Davenport reversed a trend, after Hewitt, the No. 2 seed, had upset top-seeded Norman in the men's singles. Russia's Anna Kournikova and Austrian Barbara Schett had earlier upstaged top seeds Lisa Raymond of the United States and Rennae Stubbs of Australia 6-2, 7-5 in the women's doubles final. Top seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Australia's Sandon Stolle defeated the No. 2 partnership of Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the remaining final late Saturday. In the women's singles, the 15th finals clash between the world's top two players, Hingis broke Davenport in the seventh game to take a 5-3 lead and then served out for the set. She faltered in the second, earning a code violation warning when she destroyed her racket in frustration as Davenport rallied from a break down to reel off four games and send the match into a third set. The pair exchanged breaks until 3-3 and then games went with serve until 5-5 before Hingis grabbed the ascendancy, winning 10 of the last 11 points to seal the championship. Davenport said she was put off by the windy conditions in Sydney and disadvantaged by missing vital match play Friday, when defending champion Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from their semifinal due to a back injury. "I didn't get my rhythm ... [for] almost two sets," she said. But "I'm glad I ended on a positive note and not losing in two sets. I'm glad I fought it out and got my game back." Hingis said the conditions suited her. "I was playing better and better each match," she said. "I like the conditions like this. Physically I'm consistent -- I feel like I can handle it better than the bigger girls." The 20-year-old Swiss reversed her last two results Down Under against Davenport, who swept her in last year's Australian Open decider and in the 1999 Adidas International final. Hingis still trails 10-12 in career head-to-heads and 6-9 in finals meetings. However, the world No. 1 is on a roll going into next week's Australian Open. She has lost just one match -- the Nov. 12 final last in Philadelphia to Davenport -- since eventual winner Venus Williams ousted her in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last September. She was unbeaten in Switzerland's winning Hopman Cup campaign last week in Perth and says she feels "very confident" going into the season-opening Grand Slam. "I beat the top players out there," she said. "This week it was the best field ever here, so I'm very happy about going into the Aussie Open." In the men's singles, Hewitt needed just 84 minutes to dispose of the world No. 4, defend his Adidas title and avenge his fourth-round loss to Norman at last year's Australian Open. The 19-year-old Australian waited patiently for his seventh career title. He saved a break point with an ace in the seventh game and then broke Norman's serve in the 12th game to take the set. Hewitt, the No. 2 seed and world No. 7, blitzed the Swede in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead before Norman held serve. He celebrated with a jubilant air punch when Norman sent a forehand long on match point. Hewitt, who was on a 13-match winning stretch and was leading the ATP Champions Race until he lost to Norman at the 2000 Australian Open, said he was in better shape now than he was early last year. "I'm hitting the ball better than I was," he said, "I haven't played as many matches, but today I felt like I moved the ball around well, I didn't make too many errors." Hewitt, who crushed compatriot Jason Stoltenberg 6-4, 6-0 in the final of 2000 Adidas International, became the third man to win the Sydney title twice. Pete Sampras won back-to-back championships in 1993 and '94, while Todd Martin won it in 1996 and again in 1999. Norman, who won five titles last year and a career-high 67 matches, said his "legs weren't moving very good" after a tough semifinal win Friday against compatriot Bjorkman. "But I feel like my game is coming together even though I lost," he said. Norman rated Hewitt a strong contender to triumph next week at Melbourne Park. Hewitt "can go all the way, he's one of the favorites," Norman said. "He's a big match player, he's a winner. One day sooner or later he's going to win a Grand Slam -- he's mentally very strong."
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