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Friday March 2, 12:44 AMHingis stunned by resurgent Hantuchova
Hantuchova, the sixth seed, seemed headed for a quick exit after literally chasing shadows in the first set and falling to a 1-4 deficit in the second. However the leggy Slovakian struck a brilliant purple patch that saw her win five games in the set to draw level and stay in the match. In confident mood, she dominated the third set and said afterwards a positive attitude maintained her belief that she could beat Hingis. "In my mind I always thought I had a chance even when I was 1-4 down after losing the first set 1-6," said Hantuchova. "With Martina missing lots of balls I knew it was (only) a matter of time. I am proud of the way I turned the match around. "I just stayed positive and played my game and beat a top-10 player. I am happy about it." Hantuchova, who has won only one WTA title against Hingis's 43, picked up where she had left off in the third set, breaking the Swiss ace in the first game and going ahead 2-0 to complete a sensational seven-game winning sequence. Hingis, the inaugural Qatar Open champion in 2001, was hardly the player she was earlier in the match, and although she won the third game to narrow the gap to 2-1, she was again broken in the fifth as Hantuchova took a 3-2 lead. The Slovakian held serve to extend the advantage to 4-2, but Hingis held her serve and secured a rare break to level at 4-4 to raise visions of a recovery. However, that didn't materialise as Hantuchova broke Hingis again after the Swiss comeback queen made crucial errors, sending an easy cross-court shot wide and hitting a straightforward ball long. Leading 5-4, Hantuchova needed to hold her serve to win the match and she did that in emphatic fashion, winning the 10th game at love. Fourth seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia also made the semifinals, beating Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-3. |
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