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PPO Tennis: Sharapova, Hingis on collision course
(Staff)
Updated: 2006-02-03 10:07 Top seed Maria Sharapova and
comeback kid Martina Hingis both advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open.
With five Toray titles between them--four for Hingis and one for defending
champion Sharapova--a mouth-watering semifinal featuring the two former world
No. 1s is now a distinct possibility.
Martina Hingis (L)
of Switzerland smiles with Maria Sharapova of Russia during a news
conference for the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo January 30,
2006. [Reuters] |
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Russia's Sharapova rolled to a 6-4, 6-4 second-round win over unseeded
American Lisa Raymond on the carpet at Tokyo's Metropolitan Gymnasium, while
Swiss ace Hingis had a tougher time of it, ousting third-seeded Frenchwoman
Nathalie Dechy 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Next up for Sharapova is unseeded Australian Samantha Stosur, a 7-6 (7-5),
6-2 winner Thursday over lanky sixth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Hingis
will face Maria Kirilenko in today's quarterfinals after the unseeded Russian
knocked her doubles partner, No. 8 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro,
out of the singles competition, 6-4, 6-4.
Sharapova, who received a first-round bye, said it took her a while to get
accustomed to the court surface. She lost her opening service game and fell
behind 4-2 in the first set before winning the last four games.
"(Raymond) had already played four matches and she had gotten used to the
court," Sharapova told reporters after the match. "I was able to break (her
serve) when I needed to. When I had the opportunity to win, I did.
"The court is very sticky moving-wise and a little hard to get used to on the
first day, but I like fast surfaces so it got better as the match went on."
Hingis acknowledged that she got off to a shaky start against Dechy, but as
the match wore on she started to find her groove. In the third set, she broke
Dechy's serve in the second game and broke her again in the eighth game to seal
the victory.
"I was a little nervous going into (Thursday's) match," said Hingis, who
recently returned to pro tennis after ankle injuries forced her to take a
three-year sabbatical. "I hadn't played (Dechy) in a while and she pushed me
right away, but I adjusted to the way she was returning and I started reading
her returns a little better Thank God I still have those skills, that was my
saving grace."
In other second-round matches Thursday, seventh-seeded Elena Likhovtseva of
Russia eliminated unseeded Italian Marion Bartoli in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5,
and former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina of Russia, seeded fourth here,
advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over unseeded Czech Klara Koukalova.
The winner of the WTA-sanctioned tournament on Sunday will pocket $196,900
(23.3 million yen).
In doubles play Thursday, Ai Sugiyama and partner Hantuchova were ousted by
Nicole Pratt and Mara Santangelo 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Sugiyama had earlier lost her
first-round match in the singles draw.
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