Capriati Upsets Davenport, to Play Hingis

M E L B O U R N E, Australia, Jan. 25 -- Martina Hingis finally beat bothWilliams sisters in the same tournament, and handed Venus her worstloss ever in the process.

With a new "wave of confidence," former troubled teenagerJennifer Capriati reached her first Grand Slam final.

The matchup for the Australian Open championship was set afterHingis beat Venus Williams 6-1, 6-1 today, and Capriati knockedout defending champion Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-4.

Capriati, the No. 12 seed, reacted by putting her hand behindher head in a gesture of disbelief.

On the men's side, cramps destroyed Patrick Rafter's acrobatic serve-and-volley attack, allowing Andre Agassi, the defending champion, to rally for a 7-5, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 victory. Agassi advances to the AustralianOpen final.

Hingis Sweeps the Williams Sisters

Capriati, who rates the 1992 Olympic gold medal as the greatestfeat of her career, beat Steffi Graf in that final at age 16. Thatwas before her mid-1990s hiatus from tennis with drug and personalproblems.

Hingis is seeking her fourth title in the last five AustralianOpens.

Williams, who beat Hingis on her way to the Wimbledon and U.S.Open titles, held service only once, committed 38 errors andyielded her second service break of the second set by serving threedouble faults.

She gave Hingis match point by slamming a volley far out, andthen missed a backhand long.

"Things happen all the time for no apparent reason," Williamssaid.

She said Hingis played her normal consistent, counterpunchinggame.

"A lot of times I'd be in there and I'd just miss a shot, justgiving it back to her," a subdued Williams said. "That'ssomething you can't do, especially in a Grand Slam semifinal."

Williams, however, had been struggling throughout thetournament, needing three sets in three of her first five matches.She had to rally from 3-5 in the final set to beat Amanda Coetzerin Wednesday's quarterfinals.

"It's a sad thing not to go home with the title," Williamssaid.