February 5, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 6, 1427

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TOKYO, Feb 4: 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.

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 eight 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.

Garcia ousts Agassi

DELRAY BEACH (Florida): Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez upset top-seeded Andre Agassi in straight sets on Friday to reach the semi-finals of this 380,000-dollar ATP hardcourt tournament.

The 22-year-old Spaniard posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the eight-time Grand Slam champion, who was competing for the first time in 2006 after skipping the Australian Open nursing a nagging ankle injury.

Agassi, 35, had barely reached the round of eight, needing to save a pair of match points in three-set victory over Paraguay’s Ramon Delgado on Wednesday.

Malisse, the defending champion, has yet to drop a set here.

In the bottom half of the draw, eighth-seeded American Vincent Spadea defeated South Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals here for a third straight year.

The 31-year-old Spadea will play fourth-seeded German Tommy Haas, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over seventh-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

Haas arrived in Florida fresh from a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open, where he pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to five sets before bowing out.

Results:

Quarterfinals: Xavier Malisse (BEL) bt Florian Mayer (GER) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-3; Tommy Haas (Ger) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-3, 6-2; Vincent Spadea (USA) bt Lee Hyung-Taik (KOR) 6-3, 6-3; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt Andre Agassi (USA) 6-4, 6-2.

Vina del Mar results

VINA DEL MAR (Chile): Results here from the quarterfinals in the Vina del Mar ATP tournament:

Quarterfinals: Jose Acasuso (ARG) bt Leos Friedl (CZE) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5; Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) bt Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Nicolas Massu (CHI) bt Carlos Cuadrado (ESP) 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) bt Boris Pashanski (SCG) 6-4, 6-3

Zagreb ATP results

ZAGREB: Results on Friday on the fifth day of the 323,000-euro Zagreb ATP tournament:

Quarterfinals:

Novak Djokovic (SCG) bt Ilija Bozoljac (SCG) 6-2, 6-3; Tim Henman (GBR) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-3, 6-4; Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 6-3, 6-2; Stefan Koubek (AUT) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.—Agencies