Hingis, Sharapova lead in Australian Open quarterfinals
(TennisX)
Updated: 2006-01-24 09:03

MELBOURNE, Australia - One current world No.1 and five former No.1s highlight play on Tuesday in Melbourne, as the women's singles quarterfinals take the court on Tuesday and Wednesday at the 2006 Australian Open.

Tuesday

(1) Lindsay Davenport (USA) vs. (8) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) - Davenport leads 5-4

Two former Australian Open winners looking to recapture Melbourne glory will fight for the semifinals on Tuesday, as top seed Lindsay Davenport battles No.8 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne. Davenport, currently ranked No.1 in the world, won the last of her three career Grand Slam singles titles here in 2000, while Henin-Hardenne, a former No.1, won her third of four Grand Slams here in 2004. Both have excellent lifetime records in Melbourne, Davenport 55-11 and Henin-Hardenne 24-4, and both have displayed solid form in reaching the final eight this year, Davenport ousting No.25 seed Maria Kirilenko and No.14 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova along the way and Henin-Hardenne cruising through four straight set victories over unseeded players. These two have a streaky career head-to-head. Davenport won their first five encounters, including victories at 1999 Roland Garros and the 2000 US Open, and most recently a 76(2) 76(5) decision at Zürich in 2002. Henin-Hardenne has gained revenge in their last four meetings, including the quarters here in 2004, overcoming a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 first-set deficit en route to a 75 63 win. Watch for both players to attempt to dictate play from the baseline, Davenport with flat, deep groundstrokes and Henin-Hardenne with a variety of spins and angles, while also trying to finish points off at the net, as both are extremely agile in the forecourt and great volleyers.

(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. (6) Nadia Petrova (RUS) - Sharapova leads 3-1

Russia will be guaranteed one semifinalist at the 2006 Australian Open, as No.4 seed Maria Sharapova faces No.6 seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Sharapova, at No.4 the highest-ranked Russian on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, looks to reach her second straight semifinal on the Rebound Ace courts of Melbourne Park, having fallen to eventual champion Serena Williams in three tough sets in the final four here last year after squandering three match points. The 18-year-old has blitzed through her first four rounds this year, her biggest test coming during a 64 64 fourth round victory over No.17 seed Daniela Hantuchova, who incidentally had taken out defending champion Williams the round prior. Petrova, currently the second-highest ranked Russian on the Tour, is making her first appearance in the Australian Open quarters, having already been at least that far at every other Grand Slam event. The 23-year-old has been more than impressive in Melbourne, dropping just 15 games through her first four rounds. After Sharapova won their very first encounter back in 2003, these two met three times in 2005, including in the quarterfinals of the last two majors. Sharapova won tight encounters at both Wimbledon and the US Open en route to semifinal finishes, but Petrova gained revenge in round robin play at the season-ending Tour Championships, steamrolling her teen-aged compatriot 61 62.

Wednesday

(2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs. (WC) Martina Hingis (SUI) - Hingis leads 4-1

In Sydney last week, Martina Hingis had the first Top 10 test of her full-scale 2006 comeback against reigning Roland Garros champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, falling in straight sets. On Wednesday, the 'Swiss Miss' will have a second chance against one of the game's elite, as she takes on No.2 seed and reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters. Clijsters is coming off a phenomenal 2005 season, capturing nine Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles, including the aforementioned triumph at Flushing Meadows. Despite being troubled this week by a hip injury suffered last week in Sydney, the 22-year-old Belgian has battled her way through to the final eight, including a clutch straight set win in the round of 16 over an in-form No.15 seed Francesca Schiavone. She will battle a familiar face in Hingis, against whom she has played five times previously. The 25-year-old Swisswoman dominated their first three meetings, dropping just 15 games in three straight set victories, but the Belgian avenged those defeats at Indian Wells in 2001, beating Hingis in three sets. Hingis won 75 46 62 in their last meeting at Sydney in 2002. Both players are extremely quick and dangerous from the baseline, have excellent transition games and are great volleyers, so expect some very entertaining exchanges.

(3) Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) vs. (7) Patty Schnyder (SUI) - Mauresmo leads 10-5

One of the lengthiest rivalries among the world's Top 10 will resume on Wednesday in Melbourne, as No.3 seed Amélie Mauresmo faces No.7 seed Patty Schnyder. Both players seem to play their best Grand Slam tennis here at the Australian Open, Mauresmo posting her lone runner-up finish at a major here in 1999 and Schnyder recording her best major finish by reaching the semifinals in 2004. These two have played 15 times previously, with Mauresmo holding a 10-5 advantage. The 26-year-old Frenchwoman won both of their encounters in 2005, a 46 64 63 victory in the Antwerp quarterfinals and a 26 63 64 victory in the final of the Tier I event in Rome. They have also split two meetings at the Australian Open, both of those matches coming in very different circumstances. In 1999, an unseeded and largely unheralded Mauresmo knocked out an in-form, No.8-seeded Schnyder 67(1) 64 63 in the second round, en route to a surprising runner-up finish. The tables were turned in the same round the next year in 2000, with an unseeded, somewhat slumping Schnyder surprising a No.7-seeded Mauresmo 64 64 en route to a fourth round finish. Look for a lot of long, competitive rallies between these two, who both possess great shot variety from the baseline as well as solid skills at the net. (WTA)