An hour later, her rival for the world No. 1 ranking, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, retired with a sprained left foot in the opening set of her third-round match against Bulgarian qualifier Magdalena Maleeva.

Davenport, who injured the foot in a match with Justine Henin on Wednesday, would likely have overtaken Hingis in the world rankings had she gone one round farther than the Swiss ace at the du Maurier.

That would probably have made Davenport the top seed at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28 in New York. Now, Hingis is all but assured of the No. 1 seed.

``In the end, I don't think it (the ranking) really matters because one of the Williams will be up -- and hopefully the other down,'' said Hingis, before learning of Davenport's injury.

Serena Williams was the sister that was up Thursday as she beat Anna Kournikova 6-3, 6-2.

``It was slightly close,'' said the younger of the Williams sisters, who between them have won four consecutive tournaments and have a 27-match winning streak against the rest of the WTA field. ``I was pretty happy with my serve.''

Venus Williams is not playing in the tournament.

Williams, who consulted her sister before her first-ever match against Kournikova, won 74 percent of her service points, including nine aces, and was in command from the start of the match.

She even beat Kournikova to the spectators' hearts, blowing kisses as she left the court and then addressing the crowd in French, telling them they had just seen the future of women's tennis.

``I learned it one year in school, but mostly I taught myself,'' Williams said. ``I didn't expect to speak so well. I was excited, to say the least.''

Davenport's was the day's second withdrawal.

No. 10 Julie Halard-Decugis forfeited her match with third-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain due to lower back pain on her left side.

Those who did play braved chilly 59-degree weather and stiff breezes at du Maurier Stadium.

``It was cold,'' Hingis said. ``My (back) muscles got sore in the second set, so I thought: `Just go for it, straightforward, every point.'

``The quicker I am out there, the better, because I also have to play doubles.''

Hingis and Davenport have traded the No. 1 ranking six times since the American first bumped Hingis from that spot after winning the 1998 U.S. Open. In her latest run, Hingis has held top spot since May.

Venus Williams is currently ranked third and Serena is seventh.

``Maybe the Williams were not consistent enough before to (win) all the time,'' Hingis said. ``They would have one or two good matches and, when they had to play someone good, they couldn't do it any more.

``But in the last two years, they've learned a lot and that's why they're at the top of the game right now.''

Two-time du Maurier Open champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario beat Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 7-5 to take another step toward reaching a fifth consecutive final in Montreal.

``When you were moving, it was OK, but when you stopped, it was cold,'' said Sanchez-Vicario, who has been dominant at the du Maurier in the alternate years in which it is held in Montreal.

She won in Montreal in 1992 and 1994 and lost the final in both 1996 and 1998 to Monica Seles. Her match record in Montreal is 15-2, but she has never gone beyond the semifinals when the event is staged in Toronto.

``I think I can win again here, but you have to play well to win,'' she said.

Sanchez-Vicario will meet Maleeva in one quarterfinal on Friday, while Hingis meets eighth-seeded Sandrine Testud, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Chanda Rubin.

In other matches Thursday, Anne Kremer of Luxembourg defeated Silvija Talaja 7-5, 6-3 and 16th-seeded Amy Frazier ousted No. 6 Anke Huber 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.