ROME -- Amelie Mauresmo beat Martina Hingis for the second
straight week, advancing to the Italian Open final and bolstering
her standing as the top player on the women's tour this season.
|  | | Amelie Mauresmo gets another rush from defeating Martina Hingis for the second straight week, this time in Rome. |
Mauresmo defeated the world's No. 1 player 6-4, 7-6 (5) Saturday
after beating her last week on the way to the German Open title.
The fourth-seeded Frenchwoman will face Jelena Dokic in Sunday's
title match in this $1.2 million tuneup for the French Open.
Dokic downed doubles partner Conchita Martinez 6-3, 6-2 in the
other semifinal, stopping one of the game's best clay-court
players.
Mauresmo recorded her ninth straight victory in running her
record this season to a tour-best 31-2. She will be going for her
fifth title of the year when she plays Dokic.
After fighting off four break points to hold serve at 5-5 in the
second set, Mauresmo went on to win the tiebreaker and the match.
"It's frustrating to lose twice against the same player,"
Hingis said. "I think I didn't play my best today. Mentally, I
didn't have the edge."
Mauresmo trails the Swiss star 7-4 in career meetings, but she
is a more self-assured player these days.
"We know each others' games by this point," Mauresmo said. "I
started the match more relaxed this time."
This will be the first time Dokic, an 18-year-old Yugoslav, has
played in the title match of a professional tournament.
"It's a big event, and coming in I didn't expect to be in the
finals," said Dokic, seeded 14th. "But I just kept playing better
and better in every match, and my confidence grew."
Dokic enjoyed the biggest non-Grand Slam victory of her career.
She reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1999 and the semifinals
last year.
Dokic used a mix of powerful groundstrokes and occasional
charges to the net. After putting away a high backhand volley on
match point, Dokic pumped both fists and looked toward her parents
in the stands.
Damir Dokic recently returned to coach his daughter after being
banned from the tour following confrontations at last year's
Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
This was the first time Dokic defeated Martinez in six meetings.
The third-seeded Spaniard has won four titles at Foro Italico.
Before the loss, Martinez hadn't dropped a set in this year's
tournament.
"I was really, really tired," Martinez said. "I gave her too
many angles."
Together, the pair advanced easily to the doubles semifinal,
beating Erika De Lone and Maria Emilia Salerni 6-0, 6-3 on Friday
night.
"In the locker room, we laughed about it a little," Dokic
said. "But it's not unusual to play against someone you play
with."
Mauresmo is playing the best tennis of her career. In winning
the German Open she beat Jennifer Capriati in the final.
Later this month, she will try to follow the example of Mary
Pierce, who last year became the first Frenchwoman since 1967 to
win the French Open.
Asked yet again why her game has improved so much, Mauresmo
laughed.
"Hard work," she said. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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ALSO SEE
Saturday's results
Hingis cruises into Italian Open semi vs. Mauresmo
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