TOKYO (AP) -- Defending champion Martina Hingis beat Chanda Rubin 7-6 (2), 6-4 Saturday in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

In Sunday's final, the top-ranked Hingis plays Sandrine Testud, who beat unseeded Katarina Srebotnik 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Testud is ranked 15th in the world.

The 19-year-old Hingis is in contention for her Pan Pacific championship. She first won the title in 1997.

Hingis, runner-up to Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open, and Rubin, on the rise after several years of injuries, played evenly in the opening set. In the tiebreaker, Hingis came up with big serves and tight shots down the lines.

Rubin, the No. 7 seed, broke once in the second set but was broken twice.

``I had a few chances, not just one or two. It's so disappointing,'' the 23-year-old said. ``Up until the tiebreaker, it had been fairly even.''

Rubin started the tiebreaker well but lost focus.

``And I gave her a couple of second serves there and that really hurt me,'' she said.

Hingis said Rubin played well.

``This surface suits her,'' Hingis said. ``She was quick and she served so well that I couldn't really do much.''

Many players say that the synthetic carpet of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is one of the fastest courts in the world.

``We are the same kind of players,'' Hingis said. ``We both have pretty good backhands and play an all-around game. And it's like mirroring each other.''

It was Hingis' fifth win against Rubin in seven career matches since 1995.

In the other semifinal, Testud rallied after a setback in the opening set to defeat Srebotnik. She has never beaten Hingis in seven career meetings.

``I'm very happy to be finally a top 10 player in the world,'' said Testud, who will move up to a career-high No. 10 in world rankings even if she loses the final. ``Although I have never won against Martina, we had some close matches. So I'll just try my best. And we'll see what happens.''