Sharapova shocked
Afp, Tokyo
Swiss comeback queen Martina Hingis proved she was back to her best form by beating defending champion Maria Sharapova on Saturday for a final berth in the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament. The 25-year-old wild card entrant pulled off a stunning 6-3, 6-1 victory for her first-ever win against a top 10 player since she came back in action this season. Seeking to regain the title she won in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002, Hingis will now take on second seed Elena Dementieva, who defeated fellow Russian fourth seed Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. "I feel definitely very good being in the finals again. I hadn't thought to make it this far...," said four-time champion Hingis. "Everybody has always been asking me which player you want to play and I always said 'Maria,' because I've never played her and she's a great champion, she has won Wimbledon at such a young age. Hingis had the first break opportunities leading an advantage point in the second game and another at 30-40 in the sixth game, only to see Sharapova hit a service winner and an ace to save them. But on her next chance at 30-40 in the eighth game, her backhand shot hit the net cord and landed on the Russian's side to give Hingis a 5-3 lead before serving out for the set with an ace. Sharapova had to break point on her serve in every game of the second set and when Hingis converted twice to lead 2-1 and then 4-1, it was apparently a Swiss day. Hingis completed the match by scoring another break in the seventh game on a Sharapova backhand error finishing off the match in 66 minutes without facing a single break point against her. "She (Hingis) was picking up the ball very early .... she used the quickness of the court as the advantage and came up with some good shots," said Sharapova. "We had a battle until about 3-all, and then she broke me. After that she served two aces. She gained a lot of confidence. That's what happened, one or two points and the other person gains a lot of confidence from that," she added.
| 
