Hingis struggles to victory in quarter-finals in Berlin

The world number one tennis player, Martina Hingis, has beaten France's Sandrine Testud in the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Berlin. Hingis struggled to defeat the fifth seed, who matched the Swiss champion game for game until the third set.

Less than a week after regaining her world number one ranking from Lindsay Davenport, Hingis had her work cut out to defeat Sandrine Testud.

Testud had the chance to serve out the first set at 5-4, but she failed to hold her serve, giving Hingis a crucial opening. The Swiss star then rallied to win three straight games, taking the set 7-5.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Testud breaking Hingis’s serve for a five-set lead, and then serving for the set. Again, she failed to hold her serve, after Hingis hit a brilliant forehand winner, pulling her even at 5-5.

But then Hingis made two crucial mistakes, netting a forehand on break point, and sending another wide. The errors were enough to give Testud the second set 7-5.

Testud held her own early in the third set, but then lost her serve game. The break gave Hingis a 4-2 lead, and the match ended soon after at 6-2.

The hard-earned victory brought Hingis winning streak to 13, leaving her needing just two wins for a second straight tournament title on clay.

swissinfo with agencies