PARIS -- Top seed Martina Hingis overcame a
spirited Sandrine Testud and a partisan crowd on Sunday, moving
into the French Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 victory.
|  | | Jennifer Capriati of the United States defeated fellow countrywomen Meghann Shaughnessy 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday at the French Open. |
Serena Williams advanced in straight sets
to a quarterfinal showdown against Jennifer Capriati. Whoever wins the duel between Capriati and Williams will likely meet Hingis in the semifinals.
Hingis received a reception slightly less chilly than the
cool weather, but she still secured her 15th consecutive victory against
the 17th-seeded Frenchwoman.
"I'm very happy to have this match behind me," said Hingis,
each of whose errors was loudly applauded by the crowd.
The Swiss world No. 1 had looked poised to make quick
work of Testud, needing just six minutes into roar to a 3-0 lead
in the opening set.
But the veteran Testud, urged on by the packed Center Court
crowd, stormed back to take the second set, the first Hingis had
lost in the tournament.
"Some losses are tougher to take than others," Testud said.
Hingis, desperate to win the French Open title and complete
her Grand Slam collection, was not to be denied, however,
breaking Testud at the start of the third set and regaining
control of the match.
Hingis will meet unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone, who defeated Cara Black of Zimbabwe 7-6 (2), 6-1, in the quarterfinals.
Fourth seed Capriati brushed aside fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 7-5, 6-1.
Capriati, who won her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia
earlier this year, overcame an edgy start to see off her
16th-seeded opponent with ease.
She broke Shaughnessy in the 12th game of the opening set on
Court Suzanne Lenglen and then stepped on the accelerator, winning six of the next seven games to complete victory.
Now 25, Capriati became the youngest ever Grand Slam
semifinalist in Paris aged 14 in 1990. She will play number Williams, who defeated Russia's Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-1, for a place in the
semifinals.
"(Serena's) going to be real eager to win. Especially as last
time we played I beat her," Capriati said. She eliminated Williams
in the quarterfinals of the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., in
March March.
Williams is playing her first tournament since Key Biscayne. She
was hampered by knee tendinitis for several months after that
event.
Williams said she is eager to play Capriati.
"I think it will be a great match for me, I'm really looking
forward to it," she said. "It's great for Americans. We're doing
great and so it is pretty exciting."
Belgian teenager Justine Henin advanced to the
quarterfinals by beating Austria's Barbara Schett 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round of the French Open on Sunday.
The victory gave Henin, seeded 14th, her fourth straight-set victory
in a row. She is playing in only her second French Open.
"It is the first time in my career I have reached the
quarterfinal of a Grand Slam and I hope it is not going to be
the last," said Henin, who celebrated her 19th birthday on
Friday with a third-round win over Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.
"It had to happen one day and it has today.
"I'm particularly happy that it should happen at the French
Open because three weeks ago I twisted my ankle and I wasn't
sure I would be able to make it here.
"Now here I am in the quarterfinals.
Schett, ranked 25th in the world, ousted No. 2 Venus Williams in
the first round last Monday.
Henin next faces Russia's Lina Krasnoroutskaya. The unseeded
17-year-old eliminated Italian player Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 6-4.
Krasnoroutskaya is playing at the French for the second time, having lost in
the first round last year.
"I know she (Krasnoroutskaya) is going to fight, but
sometimes she plays very well and sometimes she does not," Henin
said. "I have enough weapons but will have to be very cautious."
Henin is one of only two seeded players remaining in the bottom
half of the women's draw. The other is Belgian countrywoman Kim
Clijsters, seeded 12th. She defeated Slovakia's Henrieta Nagyova
6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. Clijsters will play Petra Mandula of Hungary in the quarterfinals. Mandula defeated Rita Grande, 6-2, 6-3. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jennifer Capriati is happy with her play, but understands her next match will be more difficult.
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