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ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (TICKER) -- Another chapter to the budding rivalry
between Venus Williams and Martina Hingis will take place Sunday as the
young stars square off in the final of the $1.05 million Swisscom Challenge.
Hingis and Williams, the top two seeds here, respectively, set up another
showdown with semifinal victories today.
Less than three weeks after her 19th birthday, Hingis reached her 11th
final of the year with a hard-fought victory over eighth seed Nathalie
Tauziat of France, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Williams also knocked off a Frenchwoman today. The 19-year-old American
took care of third-seeded Mary Pierce, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to her 10th
final in 1999.
Hingis beat Williams in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last month,
only to lose to her sister, Serena, in the final. Venus exacted revenge
two weeks ago with her semifinal triumph over Hingis at the Grand Slam
Cup, but lost the title to her sister.
These rivals have clashed four times this year, with each winning two
of the meetings.
Hingis defeated Pierce to win last week's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Filderstadt, Germany. It was her WTA Tour-leading seventh title of the
year.
Williams was the runner-up here last year, losing to Lindsay Davenport.
In search of her sixth title of 1999, Williams is 51-9 on the WTA Tour
this season. She is 38-8 on hard courts, having won two titles on this
surface.
First prize is $150,000.
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