| TOKYO (TICKER) -- Martina Hingis of Switzerland put an exclamation mark
on her return to the top spot in women's tennis,
routing seventh seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 6-2, 6-1, to win
the $1.05 million Pan Pacific Open.
Hingis, who needed just 44 minutes to dispose of Coetzer, will have
a 140-point lead over Lindsay Davenport of the United
States when the rankings are released on Monday. It is her second title
of the year and 21st of her career.
On Saturday, Hingis reclaimed the No. 1 ranking she lost to Davenport
in October with her semifinal victory over Jana
Novotna. Davenport, meanwhile, fell to Coetzer in the quarterfinals.
The 18-year-old Hingis lost her top ranking last year when she embarked
on a six-month title drought and Davenport went on
a tear, winning six titles, including the U.S. Open.
But she put herself back on track in December, winning the year-ending
Chase Championships. Last week, she claimed her
third straight Australian Open championship.
Hingis never allowed Coetzer into the match, winning the first four
games of the first set. She won the first five games in the
second en route to her second victory in three appearances in the Pan
Pacific final, and a first-prize check of $150,000.
Hingis first held the top spot in March 31, 1997 and sat atop the rankings
for 80 consecutive weeks.
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