Tennis: Hingis faces Seles as Pierce and Graf exit

By Foster Niumata

MELBOURNE - Centre court became a royal court yesterday, entertained by the four female champions of the last 11 Australian Opens.

Despite all the titles after their names, it was the pair who believe they have a common touch with the Open who will make an encore, as first Martina Hingis showed Mary Pierce the exit, then Monica Seles pointed the way out for Steffi Graf in quarter-final matches which did not quite live up to their billing.

"Centre court is like my home," said two-times and defending champion Hingis, a 6-3 6-4 victor over 1995 Open champion Pierce for a third successive year.

Hingis isn't kidding. Her love of Melbourne made her build an identical Rebound Ace court at her home in Trubbach.

She had been keen to meet Graf today to repair a 1-6 losing record, but Seles offered just as much motivation. Seles is now a perfect 33-0 at the Open and Hingis, on her own 19-win Open streak, said: "I would like to change that."

Hingis, into her 10th straight Grand Slam semis, also rounded out her win-loss record against Pierce at 5-5.

"When I was a kid," said the 18-year-old still young enough to play juniors, "she was killing me, but now here I am, I have got tougher."

Seles said: "Australia brings out the best in me," as she downplayed her 10-year rivalry with Graf, which has produced some of the greatest matches of the decade.

Seles - stabbed at her peak by a fan of Graf - and fellow four-times Open champion Graf will never exchange Christmas cards. Though she beat Graf for the first time in six years - since the last great Open final, in 1993 - and improved her record against her to 5-9, Seles holds her rivalry with Hingis (who leads 6-2) in higher regard.

"I really look up to her as a person, as an athlete," said Seles, who overcame Graf 7-5 6-1.

Graf was serving for the first set at 5-4 but suddenly spluttered. In netting a sliced backhand to drop serve, she initiated a meltdown lasting an unprecedented eight straight games to 5-7 0-5.

"Obviously I got tight and nervous but I don't know why I couldn't change it around," said Graf, who made 36 errors.

"I lost concentration and confidence. I didn't know how to put pressure on any more and I was thinking `what am I doing wrong?' and totally got lost in it."

Seles, who says she is not hitting as hard or moving as she used to, said: "It was good to be there in my head today, I was really proud of myself. I played my game the way I should have all these years."

In the other semi, Open favourite Lindsay Davenport plays bolter Amelie Mauresmo, who won their only previous contest, on Berlin clay last year.

"To me, I'm not playing an unseeded player, I'm playing a talented, dangerous player," said Davenport, the United States Open champion. "I have a chance to get to my second Grand Slam final in a row and I'm pretty psyched about it."

In a men's semi today, Thomas Enqvist meets the astonishing Nicolas Lapentti, who made Ecuador wake up early to watch his fourth five-setter, an 8-6 upset win in the fifth over seventh seed Karol Kucera.

Pictured: Martina Hingis, during her match against Mary Pierce yesterday. PICTURE / JOHN SEFTON