| FILDERSTADT, GERMANY (TICKER) -- Two years ago, top-ranked
Martina Hingis was stunned by Dominique Van Roost at the Porsche Tennis
Grand Prix. Today she made sure that would not happen again.
Hingis, the top seed, stormed into the semifinals of the $535,000 event
with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over the eighth seed from Belgium.
Another Belgian player scored the big upset of the day as 17-year-old
Kim Clijsters eliminated a player who is 11 years her senior, second seed
Conchita Martinez of Spain, 7-5, 7-5.
Third seed Nathalie Tauziat also secured a berth in the semifinals as
she defeated Anne-Gaelle Sidot, 7-5, 6-2, in an all-French matchup. Tauziat
will face Clijsters in one semifinal on Saturday.
Fourth seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain advanced to her third career
semifinal at this tournament as she struggled past fifth seed Amanda Coetzer
of South Africa, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
On Saturday, Sanchez-Vicario will attempt to snap a 14-match losing
streak to Hingis that dates to 1996.
Hingis, who posted her 60th match win of the year, defeated Van Roost
for the fourth straight time and improved to 5-1 lifetime against her.
In their first meeting here in 1998, Van Roost upset Hingis in three sets
and knocked her out of the top spot in the rankings.
It has been an easy week thus far for Hingis, who is seeking her fourth
title here in five years. She reached the quarterfinals when her second-round
opponent, Belgium's Justine Henin, retired with a foot injury.
Hingis, 20, is vying for her sixth title of the year, which would tie
red-hot Venus Williams for the WTA Tour lead. She is coming off a semifinal
loss to Williams at the U.S. Open, where she was two points from victory
before losing four straight games.
First prize is $87,000.
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