Seeking her first title in four tries here, Hingis defeated the Spaniard, 6-4, 6-0. She will play Frenchwoman Julie Halard-Decugis, who crushed Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir, 6-2, 6-2, in a battle of unseeded players.

Hingis and Sanchez-Vicario sat through a one-hour rain delay at the start of the match. Hingis then took control with a service break to go up 5-3 in the first set and dropped just one more game the rest of the match.

The 18-year-old Hingis improved to 12-1 this year on clay. A three-time winner on the WTA Tour this season, she had never reached the semifinals here before beating No. 16 Barbara Schett of Austria on Friday.

Halard-Decugis won the first set in 30 minutes before building a commanding 4-0 lead in the second.

A three-time quarterfinalist at this event, she advanced to the semifinals by knocking off nine-time champion Steffi Graf of Germany on Friday, winning for the first time in 10 meetings.

The 28-year-old is seeking her second title of the year after winning the ASB Bank Classic in New Zealand the first week of the season. She also advanced to the finals of the Croation Bol Ladies Open finals two weeks ago, losing to American Corina Morariu.

Dragomir, who dropped her first set of the tournament on Friday, had knocked out seeds in three consecutive matches to reach the semifinals. She defeated No. 2 Jana Novotna in the second round before ousting 12th-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France and No. 9 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

Graf, born in Bruhl, was 73-5 lifetime at the event before facing Halard-Decugis. She last won it in 1996 after claiming four straight titles from 1991-94.

First prize is $150,000.