Today's first quarterfinal match would decide which Frenchwoman would face Martina Hingis in the semifinals on Saturday. Hingis got an edge on the rest of the field playing Sandrine Testud in the first quarterfinal on Thursday night. Hingis remained undefeated against Testud, notching her ninth career win over the Frenchwoman with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

After getting stuck in a traffic jam in the exponentially growing North Scottsdale area, I arrived at the match in the midst of the first set. The players were trading breaks of serve, with Pierce having a particularly hard time with her own serve. Despite these problems, Pierce found herself serving for the first set at 5-3. This game would be a particularly good one for Pierce as an ace gave her a 30-0 advantage and a backhand volley winner won her the first set at 6-3.

Pierce started the second set off strongly as well. On Dechy's serve, Pierce showed off her shot variety with three different winners, a drop shot, a forehand crosscourt, and a backhand down the line. Pierce broke for 1-0. A similar display occurred in the fifth game of the set as two forehand winners and an overhead smash at the net earned Pierce a second service break at 4-1. Dechy, who reached her first tour final in Oklahoma last week and upset Conchita Martinez in the first round here, simply did not have the ammunition to counteract her countrywoman today. While the Pierce game can often be shaky, when she is "in the zone" everything seems to go her way. Her 43-minute annihilation of Sandra Nacuk in the second round was certainly an early indication of what Pierce was brining to the court this week. Pierce finished the match with a handful of forehand winners, mixing it up with effective drop shots. Despite some recent criticism of her doubles ability, Pierce showed comfort and confidence in her net play today. In about the same time it took her to win the first set, Pierce went on to win the match 6-3, 6-2 in just over one hour. Pierce next faces her doubles partner, Martina Hingis, in the semifinals on Saturday.

The initial question to be answered in the second quarterfinal of the day was which Monica Seles would be on hand to face the top ranked American, Lindsay Davenport. Thus far in the tournament, Seles has been a combination of "Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde" either dominating her opponent or slugging it out in nail-biting fashion. Seles walked onto the court for a second consecutive match with a bouquet of flowers. Seles's appearance has been wildly popular here in Scottsdale. During her golf cart ride back to the player's tent after her win over Schett, Seles was greeted with cheers and applause worthy of the Queen of England from the folks waiting in the long lines at the "Port-O-Potty." Seles modestly waved and nodded to her constituents almost embarrassed by all of the attention. Seles was clearly the sentimental favorite going into today's match. This is probably one role Seles will have to get used to for the rest of her career.

Seles started strongly winning her first service game at love. Davenport, a bit inconsistent in her first match of the tournament versus Capriati, started off shakily serving a double fault on fourth point of the game. Seles earned three break chances on Davenport's opening service game but was denied each time by either an ace or a forehand winner from the Californian. Davenport held with a forehand winner on a short shot from Seles. Despite a strong first serve game, Seles got sloppy in the third game. Three unforced errors by Seles gave Davenport the first break of the set at 2-1. Undeterred, Seles went up on the next game thanks to a Davenport double fault. A classic crosscourt backhand winner gave Seles the break back for 2-2.

Seles held her next service game that included a 99-mph ace. Davenport's struggle with serve continued in the sixth game. Two Davenport double faults gave Seles two more break chances. Again, Davenport fought back with two aces (98-mph and 106-mph) and held for 3-3. During this game and Seles's subsequent service game Davenport started to move Seles around the court. Her strategy was to pull Seles wide with a forehand and counteract the usually weak reply with another forehand to the open court. This effective game plan earned Davenport a break for a 4-3 lead in the first set. Davenport held for 5-3 and Seles had a particularly strong service game with a dropshot winner and two aces (103-mph and 108-mph) for 5-4. Serving for the set, Davenport threw in two aces (92-mph and 94-mph) of her own to take the first set 6-4 in 36 minutes.

Losing her first set of her latest comeback, Seles started the second set off with a double fault but won the next four points for the hold. Davenport opened up with an ace but a forehand volley floated wide for 30-30. Uncharacteristically, Davenport would double fault the next two points to give Seles the first break of the second set. In her post match press conference, Davenport stated that she never remembered double faulting so often in one match. Similar to her first two matches, Seles today was often standing inside or on the baseline to receive Davenport's first and second serves. Seles, despite peppering her own service games with double faults, maintained the one break lead to 4-1. Davenport finally hit her stride in the sixth game. She held at love and broke Seles at love with a forehand winner to get back on serve at 3-4. Seles had a chance to earn the break right back but was again stopped by Davenport aces. Seles could not get back on track on her next game. Opening with a double fault, Seles missed a forehand long and missed a volley to give Davenport an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4. Davenport was up to the task and ended the match with a 95-mph ace. The final score was 6-4, 6-4.

In her post match press conference, Seles was clearly disappointed with the loss but nevertheless pleased with her progress in her first two weeks back on the tour. Seles quickly responded that her foot was giving her "no pain at all." Seles has an ambitious tournament schedule ahead with planned stops in Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Amelia Island, and Hilton Head. Seles did state that she would not hesitate to withdraw from an event if she were not feeling up to it. Asked if she was having fun hitting the ball, the American said with a smile "I wouldn't be out here if I wasn't."

Davenport was pleased with getting through to the semifinals despite her tough draw (remember Capriati and Seles were both unseeded). Davenport's thigh was not taped up today and she clearly stated her preference for playing in the warmer weather. She admitted being rusty after a month off the tour and credited Seles for her impressive play after her prolonged absence. Davenport stated no preference for a semifinal opponent but thought the final quarterfinal between Anna Kournikova and Ai Sugiyama was a toss-up. She noted Sugiyama's consistency and Kournikova's improved tournament results ("she is not losing those early round matches anymore"). Kournikova did not disappoint, winning the night quarterfinal 6-4, 6-2. It will be a battle of doubles partners in the singles semifinals. Hingis taking on her doubles partner Pierce and Davenport now facing Kournikova on Saturday.

A star-studded quarterfinal doubles match closed out Friday's day session. Seles was given the tough schedule of back-to-back matches, but did not keep the crowds waiting too long with only 25 minutes of what the WTA Tour likes to call "suitable rest." Both teams were coming off impressive first round wins. Hingis/Pierce knocked off qualifiers Stevenson/Molik while Seles/Capriati walloped Testud/Rubin. Today would be a good test of the Seles/Capriati team as they faced the Australian Open finalists and Tokyo Pan Pacific champions.

A good test indeed and one that Seles/Capriati team failed miserably on during the first set. Capriati's opening service game was particular disastrous with three double faults that gave Hingis/Pierce an early advantage. Hingis and Pierce each had tough service games but eventually prevailed with holds. Seles was broken on her lone service game and Capriati once again surrendered her serve. In the blink of an eye, well okay 18 minutes, Hingis/Pierce won the first set 6-0. Despite being the youngest player of the foursome, Hingis clearly was the most proficient doubles player on the court today.

The second set thankfully provided more entertainment for the stunned audience. Pierce held easily for 1-0. The second game was hotly contested on Seles's serve. At 30-40 Seles hit a wild swinging volley that eventually landed eight feet behind the baseline. Unfortunately, its trajectory was right at Pierce's head. Pierce ducked just in time as the ball whizzed past her ear. Seles gasped at her errant shot cupping her mouth with her hand. Pierce, apparently unaffected, walked back to the baseline. A laughing Capriati tried to console her doubles partner who was still holding up an apologetic hand to Pierce. Returning to serve, Seles yet again held up her hand to Pierce who responded that everything was fine. On Seles's second game point, a Hingis shot that hit the baseline was called in. Seles and Capriati vehemently circled the spot where they believed the ball landed. This sent the crowd into wild jeering session pleading for an opportunity to get Seles/Capriati on the scoreboard. The prayers were answered as Seles/Capriati won the next two points for 1-1 in the second set.

This game spurred a wild ride for the next several games. Let's just call it a "break-fest" of champions. Hingis amazingly lost her serve at love in the third game. This was followed by service breaks of Capriati, Pierce, Seles, Hingis again, and Capriati one more time. Seles/Capriati displayed some of the power that earned them their first round victory, while Hingis/Pierce showed off impressive net play to their sometime awkward looking opponents. After six consecutive breaks of serve, Pierce finally held for 5-4. With the second set and the match on the line, Seles and Hingis both held for 6-5 Hingis/Pierce. Capriati was her team's undoing. Failing to hold serve once in the match, a Hingis shot ended the match 6-0, 7-5. The #2 and #3 seeded teams meet in the doubles semifinal, Davenport/Kournikova versus Hingis/Pierce. The winner of this match will be heavily favored to take the title, as the remaining teams left on the other side of the draw are Black/Selyutina, Callens/Van Roost, and Grande/Likhovtseva.