Seles Takes Out Hingis, Reaches Final  Canadian Open, Saturday, August 22 By Chris Gerby

Martina Hingis vs. Monica Seles
Singles: Semifinal
Centre Court

  Asked for a prediction on how this marquee singles semifinal would turn out, I freely admitted I had no idea. On the one hand, Martina Hingis was coming off a tough three set win, the kind of match she generally follows with a loss. On the other, Monica Seles has played five weeks in a row ("I'll never do that again," she vows) and looked like a tired young woman on Friday night. A glance at their previous meetings didn't offer much help either. Hingis has a 5-1 lead, but Seles won their last match handily and is undefeated in Canada. So much for figuring this one out -- I just pulled up a press box stool and waited to see what would happen.

  Hingis and Seles each had to struggle in their opening service games, but held on for 1-1. Seles held easily for 2-1 and stormed out to a 15-40 lead against the Hingis serve. Martina fought back to deuce and took the advantage by winning a breathtaking rally: she got back two lunging volleys before coming up with a backhand winner that even had the reporters applauding. Hingis had another trick up her sleeve in the next point, drawing Seles in with a drop shot and passing her to hold for 2-2. Hingis went on to convert her second break chance of the afternoon, smoking a forehand down the line to secure a 3-2 lead.

  Service winners ended matching holds for 4-3. Hingis held at love for 5-3, but Seles kept the set alive by winning Game 9 on two service winners in a row. Serving for the set, Hingis raced through the tenth game. She got up 40-0 and delivered yet another service winner to lock up the 6-4 set. Overall she may not be quite the player she was last year, but one area where Hingis has improved is in this ability to win free points with her serve. It was the key to the first set and helped her to 2-2 in the second. Seles dug out from 15-30 to hold for 3-2, but Hingis battled right back to tie the set again.

  Still being pushed through difficult service games, Seles held from deuce for 4-3, winning the game with a trademark cross-court backhand. Some massive returns gave Seles a 15-40 chance in the following game and she got her first break of the day when Hingis missed a forehand long. Seles felt like she got a bad baseline non-call at 30-30 in the set's ninth game, but she kept playing and won the point with a two-handed forehand winner. Perhaps picking up an extra jolt of adrenaline from that exchange, Seles rocketed an ace to pull out a 6-3 set and send this semifinal to a decisive third.

  Seemingly back on form, Hingis held at 15 with an ace. Seles wasn't going away either, though. A love hold got her to 1-1. With her first break point of the set, Seles creamed a backhand winner. Trailing in the overall score for the first time all day, Hingis bounced her racquet on the way to the changeover. She got a break chance of her own in Game 4, but a Seles backhand caught the baseline for deuce. Monica won the next point with a deep second serve forcing a bad return and took the game with another timely ace (one of eight on the day). Hingis was still down just one break and very much in the match at 3-1, but she double faulted twice in the following game. Seles was 2-for-2 on break opportunities in the set after ripping a cross-court forehand winner for 4-1.

  Looking more and more dominant, Seles won Game 6 with an ace. Rather like Irina Spirlea in her third round match on Friday, Hingis played one of her best games when defeat seemed imminent. She held at love for 5-2, finishing the game with an overhead smash. Hingis was handed a 0-15 lead in the next game, but still looked discouraged. Seles ran off three points io a row to earn double match point. At 40-15, a Hingis forehand clipped the tape and crawled over -- a nifty boost from fate, but too little too late. A long forehand return on match point #2 sealed Martina's fate. Running her all-time Canadian Open record to a dazzling 24-0, Monica Seles advanced to Sunday's final with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 upset.
 

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