Hingis sets up quarterfinal meeting with Sharapova

Martina Hingis beat Anastasia Myskina at the Dubai Open on Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal with Maria Sharapova.

Photo: Hingis sets up quarterfinal meeting with Sharapova

Hingis defeated the sixth-seeded Russian 6-4, 6-3 in the second round to fix up the meeting with an opponent she beat in straight sets in Tokyo this month. Sharapova, seeded third, downed Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-0 in 60 minutes.

"I do not have revenge on my mind, but I don't like losing to the same player twice in a row," Sharapova said. "Martina played some amazing tennis in Tokyo, but it is a different match tomorrow."

Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, the Australian Open champion, beat Slovakian qualifier Henrieta Nagyova 6-3, 6-1, while defending champion Lindsay Davenport won her 700th singles match. She beat Russia's Elena Likhovtseva, who's ranked 13 places below her, 6-0, 6-0 in 58 minutes.

"I played well and my body held up," said the 29-year-old Davenport. "To win here, I need to play four days in a row. I am not getting any younger and I have to be fresh for my next match."

Fourth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, playing her first match since retiring from the Australian Open final because of stomach pain, labored to beat qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 7-5. The four-time Grand Slam champion was down 3-0 in the second set after several unforced errors.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Hingis, playing again this year after a three-year absence, rallied from 15-40 in the first game of the opening set to hold her serve and moved out to a crucial 4-1 lead. In the second set, Hingis made the all-important break in the fourth game to go 3-1 up and then held her serve.

"Winning the first game showed her that I am here and I am prepared and that she has to earn her points," Hingis said. "It is not a comeback anymore. This is my fifth tournament. It is more like the second part of my career."

Fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone beat Tunisia's Selima Sfar, while eighth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia lost to 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. Russia's Maria Kirilenko advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, reports AP.

O.Ch.