MELBOURNE, Australia -- Martina Hingis says center court at Melbourne Park is like her home.

She feels very comfortable there, having won the last three Australian Open titles and hasn't lost a match there since 1996, winning 27 in a row.

	Martina Hingis has enjoyed remarkable success over the years in Australia.

Vying to become the first woman since 1966 to win four consecutive Australian Open championships, she hasn't dropped a set and has only been pushed once, in her quarterfinal against Sandrine Testud when she won a tiebreaker in the second set.

"It shows how well I've played overall," the top-seeded and world No. 1 Hingis said Thursday after a 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win over No. 10 Conchita Martinez.

"I concentrate well at this tournament, I always play on center court and ... I feel so homey out there. It has been my court for the last three years and I intend to keep going ..."

Margaret Smith-Court of Australia won the Australian Open from 1960-66.

The 19-year-old Swiss will face second-seeded and world No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in Saturday's final.

She is very wary of Davenport. And with good reason. Davenport has won their last three matches and is confident.

Hingis, who defeated Mary Pierce in 1997, Conchita Martinez in '98 and Amelie Mauresmo last year, describes the No. 1 vs. No. 2 match as the "dream final," saying no two players deserve to be there more.

"I think the two of us have been the most consistent players in the last three years -- it's her or me always in the semis or the finals or winning tournaments," she said. "So it's very good to have the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the Grand Slam final."

Davenport concedes that Hingis virtually "owns center court" and she faces a tough battle, particularly after losing in the semifinals in the past two years. But she sees some good omens in her favor.

She's played two previous Grand Slam finals, the U.S. Open in 1998 and Wimbledon last year, and won both.

On both occasions, she defeated an American in the semifinals, which she did in the Australian Open Thursday with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) semifinal win over Jennifer Capriati, and both times she beat the favorite.

"When I won the U.S. Open I beat Martina, and last year, at Wimbledon, I played Steffi (Graf) and she was the favorite by far," she said. "I like to beat the best of the best when I win the Grand Slams.

	No. 1 vs. No. 2
	Since 1985 in the majors, the No. 1 seed and No. 2 seeds in both the men's and women's draws have survived to the finals just four other times:
	Tournament	Men	Women
	1996 U. S. Open	No. 1 Sampras def. No. 2 Chang	No. 1 Graf def. No. 2 Seles
	1995 U. S. Open	No. 2 Sampras def. No. 1 Agassi	No. 1 Graf def. No. 2 Seles
	1993 Australian	No. 1 Courier def. No. 2 Edberg	No. 1 Seles def. No. 2 Graf
	1989 U. S. Open	No. 2 Becker def. No. 1 Lendl	No. 1 Graf def. No. 2 Navratilova

"I'm 2-0 in finals. Hopefully I can make it 3-0."

Davenport sustained a slight abdominal and groin strain against Capriati and withdrew from her doubles semifinal against Hingis and Pierce while trailing 5-0 in the first set. But she said she'll be fine Saturday.

"It's a little stiff now but I've had it for about a week," Davenport said.

Davenport, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, has overpowered Hingis in their last three meetings and plans to maintain the aggressive tactics in the final.

She also has a 9-7 lead overall in head-to-head meetings, but Hingis says she's got some new strategies to counter her.

"She has been able to serve very well against me and I just didn't have anything to hurt her at that time," she said. "But I think I've improved," since losing the Chase Championship final in December.

"I have been able to beat her before. It has always been back and forth, (but) I can always improve on the score right now."