MELBOURNE — Defending champion Martina Hingis swept into the Australian Open final Thursday with a resounding 6-2 6-4 defeat of sixth seed Monica Seles.
Swiss teenager Hingis was far too strong for four-time Open champion Seles and served out the match in 59 minutes on center court at Melbourne Park, slamming a forehand winner past Seles on her second match point.
The world number two will meet unseeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in Saturday’s final after Mauresmo earlier stunned top seed Lindsay Davenport 4-6 7-5 7-5.
Hingis is bidding for her third successive Open title. She ended a remarkable unbeaten run for Seles of 33 matches after the former number one won the title in her only four previous appearances in Melbourne from 1991-93 and again in 1996.
Hingis dominated the first set but lapsed slightly when she and Seles swapped services breaks at the beginning of the second set.
The 18-year-old then used her superior court coverage to gain another important break in the seventh game and ruthlessly shut former number one Seles out of the match.