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SYDNEY INT. '98

Williams gains revenge over Hingis at Sydney International

Williams gains revenge over Hingis at Sydney International

Last year, Martina Hingis did not lose until her 42nd match. This season, Venus Williams made sure it would not take that long.

In a rematch of last year's U.S. Open final, Williams handed the top seed and defending champion a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 loss in the second round of the $657,500 Sydney International tennis tounament in Australia.

Williams, of the United States, and Hingis, the world number one from Switzerland, slugged it out and battled cramps for 2 1/2 hours in the scorching Australian heat.

The 17-year-old Hingis, who lost just four games in routing Williams last August in New York, easily grabbed the first set and a 3-1 lead in the second. But Williams, also 17, leveled at 3-3 and eventually took the set.

In the third game of the third set, Williams required 10 minutes of treatment for a cramp in her thigh. After trading six service breaks, Williams went up 4-2. In the 11th game, it was Hingis' turn to receive medical treatment for cramps. After the set was squared at 5-5, Williams won the next two games without a loss of a point to earn her first victory over Hingis in four meetings.

"I didn't want to quit out there," Williams said. "I had come so far in the heat. I had to revert to my power game when I started cramping. That kept me in the game. I didn't enjoy losing to her the last three times. Something had to be done."

In the quarterfinals, Williams will play Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva, who beat American Chanda Rubin, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, today.

Hingis won 41 straight matches to start 1997 before losing to Croatian Iva Majoli in the French Open final. She went on to finish with 12 titles, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and the Lipton Championships, while compiling a 78-5 record.

"She (Williams) played much smarter tennis today and she got a lot more balls back," Hingis said. "We'll probably play each other a lot more in the years to come."

Venus was not the only Williams to emerge victorious today as her younger sister, 16-year-old Serena, defeated fellow qualifier Mirjana Lucic of Croatia, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

"When I was on the court, a spectator yelled to me that Venus had won," said Serena. "That spurred me on even more. I'm very excited because I've never won four matches in a row before."

The younger Williams, playing in just her third professional event, made her first big splash last season when she defeated Mary Pierce of France and Monica Seles of the United States en route to the semifinals at Chicago.

Lucic, at 15 years old, was a winner at the first WTA Tour event she entered last year in Bol, Croatia.

Sydney is one of the growing number of events that combine the men's and women's tours. The top four women's seeds received first-round byes.

First prize for the men is $340,000 while the women's winner takes home $339,500.