MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top seed Martina Hingis will
play Jennifer Capriati in the final of the Australian Open after
she crushed Venus Williams 6-1, 6-1, handing Venus her worst
loss ever in the process.
|  | | Venus Williams committed 38 unforced errors against the too efficient Martina Hingis. |
The victory against Venus Williams was a personal milestone for
Hingis, who beat Venus's younger sister Serena in an epic
three-set quarterfinal, but had never before beaten both
Williams sisters in the same tournament.
"I think I'm in very good shape and I felt like I still had
it in me," said Hingis, who hasn't won a Grand Slam singles
title in two years.
"The more you make them play the more you're going to give
them a chance to miss.
"I just tried to be very concentrated and play my own game."
With the semifinal victory, Hingis avenged losses last year at
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to eventual champion Venus Williams. Hingis
committed only eight unforced errors to 38 for Williams.
"She was hitting a little bit wild today, that's for sure,"
Hingis said. "She hits the ball hard when it goes in."
Williams, who had won 19 consecutive Grand Slam matches,
shrugged off the defeat with a smile.
"I just had an off day and she played her normal game, which is
to be a great counterpuncher," Williams said. "I didn't seem to
do the right things."
World No. 1 Hingis raced through the first set as
third-seeded Venus handed her easy points with 22 unforced
errors -- two thirds of the total points Hingis won in the set.
Hingis broke Venus's serve in the second game of the first
set when the American pushed an easy forehand volley long.
Third seed Williams broke back in the next game but she
handed Hingis the advantage again straight away, serving a
double fault to set up another break point that the Swiss duly
converted into a 3-1 lead. Hingis broke again in the sixth game
before serving out the set.
The second set followed the same pattern, Hingis breaking
Venus in the opening game when the American pushed a forehand
long, one of many seemingly easy shots she sprayed out of court.
She broke again in the fifth game for a 4-1 lead and then
again to close out the match.
Twelfth seed Capriati earlier upset defending champion
Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-4 in the first semifinal.
Hingis will be playing in her fifth consecutive Australian
Open final after winning the title from 1997-99 and losing to
Davenport last year. Capriati will be playing in her first final
at a Grand Slam tournament.
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ALSO SEE
Sweet revenge: Williams sisters dispatch Hingis in doubles
Capriati upsets Davenport to reach Aussie final
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Martina Hingis makes quick work of Venus Williams to advance to the Australian Open final.
avi: 2439 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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