|
VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA (TICKER) -- The top seeds in the tournament and
four of the seven highest ranked women in the world take to the court today
for semifinal action at the women's Advanta Championships.
Top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland meets four seed Nathalie Tauziat
of France, and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport takes on fellow American and three
seed Venus Williams.
This season, the foursome has combined for 20 titles and 31 finals appearances.
Hingis, Davenport and Williams are ranked first to third in the world,
with Tauziat seventh.
Hingis has won a WTA Tour-leading seven titles and has reached the finals
11 times overall. Her last crown came at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Germany with a finals triumph over Mary Pierce.
Davenport has won five of her six finals appearances this year, but
has just two titles since claiming Wimbledon in July. She defeated Monica
Seles to win the Princess Cup at Tokyo in late September.
Williams has six titles in 1999 and four other finals appearances. Her
last crown came a month ago with a win over Hingis at the Swisscom Challenge.
Tauziat may be the least accomplished of the four semifinalists, but
she is the hottest, having won two events in the last three weeks. She
claimed the Ladies Kremlin Cup on October 24 and the Sparkassen Cup at
Leipzig, Germany last Sunday.
The $520,000 event, which is being held on the campus of Villanova University,
offers an $80,000 first prize.
| 