In third meeting, Mirza finally beats Hingis
SEOUL, South Korea -- Sania Mirza of India rallied to eliminate top-seeded Martina Hingis 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 Thursday at the Korea Open.
Mirza overcame a shaky start to drill precision strokes down the line and tire Hingis out with powerful ground strokes and crosscourt winners.
Hingis was chasing her third season title and second in a row after claiming the Sunfeast Open in India on Sunday. Hingis beat Mirza in the Sunfeast semifinals en route to the title.
"We've played two other times. Third time lucky," Mirza said. "This is the fittest I've ever been, best I've felt."
Hingis and Mirza traded breaks for six straight games in the first set.
"She played very well today, much better than last week. I gave her too many chances," Hingis said. "Her forehand is really amazing."
Mirza faces Virginia Ruano Pascual in the quarterfinals after the Spaniard got past Indonesia's Angelique Widjaja 6-4, 6-3.
Third-seeded Marion Bartoli beat Severine Bremond 7-6 (1), 6-1, and Ai Sugiyama downed Anastassia Rodionova 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Sugiyama next faces Paola Suarez, who dominated Catalina Castano 6-4, 6-3, while Bartoli faces Akiko Morigami.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
