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PHILADELPHIA (TICKER) -- It was business as usual for top seed Martina
Hingis as the Swiss teenager returned from a three-week hiatus with a 6-3,
6-0 victory over American Chanda Rubin today in second-round action at
the Advanta Championships.
Former teenage star Jennifer Capriati of the United States began her
bid for back-to-back WTA Tour titles as she disposed of Belgian teenager
Kim Clijsters, 7-5, 6-3, in a first-round encounter. Capriati will face
fourth seed Nathalie Tauziat of France on Thursday.
Tonight's marquee second-round match will pit second seed Lindsay Davenport
and fellow American Alexandra Stevenson in a rematch of the Wimbledon semifinal
won by Davenport, 6-1, 6-1.
Two other players joined Hingis in the quarterfinals. Fifth seed Julie
Halard-Decugis of France dumped qualifier Maria Vento of Venezuela, 6-1,
6-4, and unseeded American Lisa Raymond rallied past Henrieta Nagyova of
Slovakia, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The 19-year-old Hingis needed only 50 minutes to improve to 65-10 this
season. She has won a WTA Tour-leading seven tournaments, including the
Australian Open. Three of her losses came against teenage rival Venus Williams,
who beat Hingis in the final of her homeland tournament in Zurich last
month.
Hingis won this event in 1997 and lost to eventual champion Steffi Graf
in last year's quarterfinals. She is tuning up to defend her Chase Championships
title next week in New York.
Rubin was coming off a loss to Capriati on Sunday in the final of the
Bell Challenge event in Quebec City, Canada.
Capriati claimed her second title of the season on Sunday after going
six years without one. Ranked 101st in the world at the end of 1998, the
23-year-old has displayed a renewed enthusiasm for tennis with the help
of renowned coach Harold Solomon. She also reached the fourth round at
both the French and U.S. Opens.
Davenport will test her injured left wrist to see if she is fit to compete
in New York. The reigning Wimbledon champion aggravated the injury last
month at Filderstadt, Germany and was forced to withdraw. Davenport has
captured five titles this season while compiling a 50-9 record.
Stevenson, the daughter of former Philadelphia 76ers star Julius Erving,
pulled out a three-set win over 1994 champion Anke Huber of Germany on
Monday.
The $520,000 event, which is being held on the campus of Villanova University,
offers an $80,000 first prize.
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