Martina Hingis shed her Williams sisters jinx to beat Venus 0-6 6-3 6-3 at the Italian Open on Saturday and reach her second final since ending a three-year retirement.
ROME: Martina Hingis shed her Williams sisters jinx to beat Venus 0-6 6-3 6-3 at the Italian Open on Saturday and reach her second final since ending a three-year retirement.
Hingis' win -- her first over Williams since the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2001 -- sent the Swiss through to a final against 16th seed Dinara Safina who edged out fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6 6-4 7-5.
After a litany of unforced errors in the first set Hingis slowly worked her way back into the match before snatching a crucial break in the eighth game of the decider and serving out for victory in a match between two former world number ones.
“In the first set I felt like I could cry -- I was missing my shots by a little bit and my timing was out,” said Hingis, who also beat Williams on her way to winning the title in 1998.
“It's amazing that I played Venus in the semi-finals again eight years later -- I'm just trying to enjoy it.
“Rome has always been a special place for me and I'm happy to have made another final.”
Hingis lost her only previous final this year, in Tokyo in February, to Elena Dementieva. She last beat Serena Williams, Venus' younger sister, in the same Australian Open in 2001.
Safina struggled through a final set lasting more than an hour before finally defeating Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach her first final in more than a year.
The 16th-seeded Safina, sister of Marat Safin, moved to within one victory of giving Russia a sixth title from six WTA Tier I events this season.
After winning the all-Russian struggle, Safina will face a stern test Sunday on the clay of the Foro Italico.
Kuznetsova was Safin's third high-profile victim this week after knocking out former winner Kim Clijsters and defeating two-time Grand Slam finalist Elena Dementieva in the quarters.
"I didn't expect this," said Safina.
"I knew Kim was the favourite but I beat her and then beat Dementieva and now Svetlana.
"It's a dream come true for me."
Safina played -- and won -- her last final on May 15 last year, defeating Czech Zuzana Ordraskova to claim the Prague title.
In the interim, the 20-year-old ranked 19th fell at the semi-finals stage four times this year prior to this breakthrough week in Rome.
Safina improved to three wins, two defeats over 2004 US Open winner Kuznetsova, who failed to capitalise on a run of six straight winning games which gave her the first set and put her up a break in the second.
Kuznetsova won the Tier I Miami event last month, one of four compatriots to have swept all the trophies at the WTA elite level in 2006.
The victory in two hours, 33 minutes was plagued by breaks of serve, seven apiece from an impressive 31 break point chances.
The big-hitting Kuznetsova's seven aces did her little good as the seventh seed lost her ninth match of the season against 29 wins.
Safina has exceeded her career-best Tier I result by passing the semis. She also played in the final four in Moscow last year, losing to eventual champion Mary Pierce.
The winner failed on her first attempt to serve it out, losing serve while leading 5-4 in the third set. But yet another break of Kuznetsova provided another chance.
Two games later, the number 16 seed came good on her next opportunity to advance.
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