Davenport, who lost in the semifinals in Melbourne the last two years, ended Capriati's magical ride through the tournament with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory Thursday (tonight in the United States) in the first of two highly anticipated all-American semifinals.

Davenport seeks her third Grand Slam singles title and first in Melbourne on Saturday when she tries to deny top seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland a fourth straight Australian Open championship.

Hingis set up a showdown of the world's top two players in the final by dumping 10th seed Conchita Martinez of Spain, 6-3, 6-2, in just over an hour to win her 27th straight match in Melbourne and improve to 32-2 lifetime.

Hingis attempts to become the first female to win at least four consecutive Australian Open crowns since Margaret Smith claimed seven straight from 1960-66. She has won five Grand Slam titles overall.

Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras renew their rivalry in the men's semifinals later today.

Competing in her first Grand Slam semifinal in more than eight years, Capriati lost her serve five times as she fell to 1-3 lifetime against Davenport. After the loss, Capriati quickly left center court but returned to an ovation from the crowd.

"I think it's a great way to start the year," Capriati said. "I'm pretty happy with my performance here. I played some good matches, good tennis and today came close in the second set. I'm confident for the rest of the tournaments of the year and I know there's still some work to be done, so it's a good start."

Davenport stormed through the first set in 22 minutes as she broke Capriati twice.

"It seemed like she was making errors in the beginning, and I was able to take control of the points," Davenport said.

The second set featured three breaks by each player in 19 break opportunities. Davenport broke for a 5-4 lead and served for the match, but lost her serve in the next game. After an exchange of holds, Davenport prevailed in the tiebreak.

"What shocked me is how she turned it around so much," said Davenport, who committed 33 unforced errors, including 225 in the second set. "But I know she is capable of playing well. The thing that did surprise me was how well she served. I probably got a little lucky there in the end."

After winning only one Grand Slam match from 1994-98 due to personal problems, Capriati rededicated herself last season to the sport she took by storm in the early 1990s, beginning the new decade with her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance since the 1991 U.S. Open.

"I'm happy," said Capriati, who was successful on 78 percent of her first serves. "But I want more."

Capriati's remarkable run even got the attention of her opponent. Davenport admitted Capriati was one of her childhood idols and would have been rooting for her had she played anyone else.

With her impressive performance here, Capriati will move up four spots to No. 17 in next week's WTA rankings, her highest ranking since April 1994.

Davenport won her first Grand Slam title in 1998 by defeating Hingis in the U.S. Open final. She added her second major at last year's Wimbledon and looks to continue her recent mastery over Hingis with her first title in Melbourne.

The American went 3-0 against the world No. 1 in 1999 and did not lose a set. In their most recent meeting, Davenport defeated Hingis, 6-4, 6-2, in the final of the Chase Championships in November. Overall, Davenport is 9-7 lifetime against Hingis.

"It's going to be tough," said Davenport on her upcoming clash with Hingis. "Martina obviously pretty much owns this court. I am definitely the underdog going into the final, but beating her three times in a row last year is going to give me a lot of confidence."

Both players have not lost a set en route to the final, which will pit the only women to hold the No. 1 ranking since March 1997.