Hingis breezes into semifinals in Pennsylvania

Martina Hingis took the final eight games to secure a place in the semifinals Keystone

The world number one tennis player, Switzerland's Martina Hingis, is through to the semifinals of the Advanta Championships after defeating Russia's Anna Kournikova.

Hingis encountered strong resistance in the first set, but eventually defeated the sixth seed 6-4, 6-0, winning the final eight games of the match.

Both players broke serve twice in the first set. “It was a very close set,” Hingis told reporters. “Then in the second set she kind of played the same strokes over and over and I started reacting better.”

The match comes two weeks after Hingis defeated the Russian, who is also her doubles partner, in Moscow. The latest win means the Swiss star has won 10 out of 11 matches against Kournikova.

“Since we started playing doubles we know each other better,” Hingis added. “She has definitely improved in the last two months, but I was always the better player. She has nothing to lose but she doesn’t have the weapons to play me.”

Kournikova dropped the second set in just 18 minutes, after she began hitting the ball wildly all over the court. “I played the match better than I did in Moscow,” she said. “I’m much more aggressive. We had a lot of good rallies, where I made so many unforced errors.”

Hingis will now face fourth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France in the semi-finals.

swissinfo with agencies