Hingis completes sister act

Hingis celebrates her second Williams win of the week Keystone

Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis has reached the women's final of the Australian Open after thrashing America's Venus Williams in straight sets.

The 6-1, 6-1 victory completed a rare double, following Hingis’s win over Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. The two victories made Hingis only the third player ever to beat both sisters at the same tournament.

Following her latest triumph over Venus, which lasted just 53 minutes, Hingis admitted she had profited from an unusual number of unforced errors by the American.

“She was hitting a little bit wild today but I just didn’t give he many chances,” Hingis said. “The more you make them play the more you’re going to give them a chance to miss.”

The world number one will now be a strong favourite to win her first grand slam title in two years. In Saturday’s final she is set to play former teen prodigy Jennifer Capriati, who upset Lindsay Davenport in Thursday’s other semi-final match.

While Hingis will be playing her fifth Australian Open final in a row (having won three of the last four), the match will be Capriati’s first ever appearance at the final of a grand slam event.

During her teenage years, the 24-year-old American reached four major semi-finals but lost on each occasion. There then followed a series of much-publicised drug and personal problems which saw Capriati take a long break from the sport.

Although a win for Capriati on Saturday would complete a fantasy comeback for many neutral followers of the game, the American has an unenviable history against Hingis to overcome.

But althought Hingis has won all five of their previous encounters, the Swiss player insisted on Thursday that she wouldn’t be underestimating Capriati.

“On Saturday I won’t be thinking for a second about my five wins against her,” Hingis said. “Before this week Jennifer had also never beaten Monica Seles or Lindsay Davenport in a grand slam event. She really is looking dangerous.”

Despite the high praise for her opponent, Hingis is looking far from vulnerable herself at the moment. The world number one hasn’t lost a singles match since early November and will be looking on Saturday to clinch her fourth title in a row.

swissinfo with agencies