INDIAN WELLS (California), March 17: Slovakian teenager Daniela Hantuchova made her first WTA Tour final one to remember, stunning former world number one Martina Hingis to win the Indian Wells tier one title.

Hantuchova, 18, beat Hingis 6-3, 6-4, sealing the victory with her 20th backhand winner of the night.

As she bounced around the court in her sleeveless red dress, Hantuchova didn’t seem to feel the chilly desert winds that had hindered players throughout the day.

US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, the top seed in the $2.95 million ATP Tennis Masters Series tournament, made the most of his advantage in the wind and pounded Pete Sampras 6-2, 6-4 to reach a final showdown with Briton Tim Henman.

Hewitt never faced a break point as Sampras struggled in the swirling, gusting desert breeze. He needed an hour and 23 minutes to advance to Sunday’s final against Henman, who defeated wildcard Todd Martin 6-3, 6-3.

The men’s semi-finals were the curtain raiser to the women’s final, which started routinely enough, with the underdog Hantuchova dropping her serve in the opening game.

In the end, however, she broke the second-seeded Hingis’ serve six times. The crucial break of the first set came in the eighth game, when Hingis — whose 40 career singles titles include five Grand Slam triumphs — double faulted to let Hantuchova take a 5-3 lead.

Hantuchova served out the set, fighting off one break point in the process, and broke Hingis to open the second.

She broke Hingis again to lead 4-1 in what proved to be the start of four consecutive service breaks. After breaking Hingis to lead 5-2 Hantuchova dropped her own serve with two forehand errors.

After Switzerland’s Hingis held for 5-4 and Hantuchova served for the match again, she tried to put thoughts of victory out of her mind.

The latest defeat leaves Sampras still searching for his first tournament title since Wimbledon 2000.

Hewitt needed just 27 minutes to take the first set. Sampras put up more resistance in the second, but was still on the defensive often on his own serve and couldn’t make a dent in Hewitt’s.

As in several of his matches this week, Henman broke early then found himself often on the defensive. He broke Martin in the first and fifth games of the second set en route to a 5-1 lead, then lost two games. Serving for the match at 5-2 he dropped his serve to 15, double-faulting on break point.

Results

MEN (semifinals): Lleyton Hewitt (Aus x1) bt Pete Sampras (USA) 6-2, 6-4; Tim Henman (Gbr) bt Todd Martin (USA) 6-3, 6-3