INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – World No. 1 Martina Hingis
and her chief rival, power-hitting Venus Williams, led a Monday
charge of tough-talking young players into the quarterfinals of
the Indian Wells Masters Series.
|  | | No. 1 Martina Hingis worked some in her fourth-round win over 16th-seeded Barbara Schett of Austria. |
Hingis had to rally in the second set to overcome 16th seed
Barbara Schett of Austria, 6-3, 7-6, while Williams eliminated
Australian veteran Rachel McQuillan, 6-4, 6-2.
Waiting for Williams in the round of eight will be Russian
eighth seed Elena Dementieva, who vowed to defeat the 2000
Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion if she is on her game.
"If I play 100 percent and she plays 100 percent, I will
beat her for sure," said the 19-year-old Dementieva, who
advanced past 16-year-old compatriot Lina Krasnoroutskaya, who
retired with a foot injury after losing the first set, 6-3.
"I'm stronger inside."
The first time that graceful Dementieva faced the powerful
Williams, the Russian shocked her in a dead-rubber match in a
1999 Fed Cup match.
The last time the 20-year-old Williams and the Russian
played was for the gold medal in Sydney, which Williams took in
straight sets.
Dementieva said she had been overwhelmed by the pressure of
playing for her country, but would not be intimidated by
Williams.
"She's won all her matches because she's stronger
physically," Dementieva said. "She's a great player but nothing
special. She's a girl like me. ...The Russian people aren't
afraid of anything."
Hingis's opponent in the quarters will be Italian Silvia
Farina-Elia, who ousted 11th seed Anke Huber of Germany, 6-3,
4-6, 6-4.
Defending champion Lindsay Davenport, the second seed,
overpowered friend and former doubles partner Lisa Raymond,
6-4, 6-2, to set up a quarterfinal showdown against seventh
seed Serena Williams, who routed Bulgaria's Maggie Maleeva,
6-3, 6-2.
The muscular Williams beat Davenport in the final of Los
Angeles last year in a third-set tiebreaker, but Davenport got
revenge in the U.S. Open quarters with a stunning straight-set
victory over the defending champion.
Serena, 19, holds a 5-2 lifetime edge over Davenport.
"It's a tough draw," admitted Davenport said. "She's always
dangerous."
"Lindsay played immaculate that day and I didn't play up to
my potential," Serena Williams said about their U.S. Open
meeting. "I'll be better prepared. I'm the type of person who
learns from her mistakes."
Two teen sensations set up a fresh-faced quarter-final,
when 17-year-old Kim Clijsters of Belgium, the 14th seed,
outlasted Japan's Ai Sugiyama, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, and 18-year-old
wildcard Elena Bovina of Russia came back from a break down in
third set to defeat France's Nathalie Dechy, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
The hard-serving, 6-3 Bovina, said she would love to
overtake Russia's popular Anna Kournikova as quickly as
possible.
"Wouldn't that be great if I won a title before she did,"
said Bovina of Kournikova, who is currently out with an injury
and, according to Bovina, is not friendly to the young Russian
players.
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