Williams holds off Davenport

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams kept building a lead, and Lindsay Davenport kept coming back.

Finally, capping a furious exchange on her third match point, Williams ripped a forehand winner for a 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-5 victory Tuesday night in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

Williams blew leads of 2-0 in the second set and 3-0 in the third. Davenport erased two match points in the tiebreaker to force the final set.

In the final game, Williams hit a lunging crosscourt volley to make it 30-all, then smacked a return winner, and then on match point belted three consecutive sizzling forehands, the third for a winner.

Williams screamed "Yes!" and pumped her fists to celebrate ending a streak of losses in four consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals, including the Open last year when she was beaten by Davenport.

Williams' opponent Friday will be top-seeded Martina Hingis, who beat Daja Bedanova 6-2, 6-0 in 42 minutes.

"It's going to be tough," Hingis said. "But you have to expect that in a semifinal."

No. 1-seeded Gustavo Kuerten advanced to the men's quarterfinals by beating Albert Costa 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Kuerten will next play No. 7 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who beat No. 12 Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

No. 16 Tommy Haas led No. 4 Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 2-2 when their match was suspended until Wednesday because of rain.

The marquee match Wednesday night will be the 32nd meeting between four-time U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras and two-time champ Andre Agassi.

While women's tennis has soared in popularity thanks to an abundance of magazine-cover personalities, Hingis and Bedanova provided a reminder that unsightly mismatches are still common, even in the second week of major events.

The 18-year-old Bedanova, who upset two-time champion Monica Seles in the fourth round, admitted she was nervous in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"I wasn't on court with my mind," Bedanova said. "I wanted too much from myself, I guess."

Bedanova and Hingis were both born in the Czech Republic, and they practiced together when Bedanova was about 10 and stayed at Hingis' house in Trubbach, Switzerland.

"She's like my little pupil," Hingis said with a grin.

Their latest tutoring session, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, started strangely. Hingis won the first 11 points before double-faulting, prompting cheers from restless spectators eager for a closer contest. Bedanova then won nine of the next 10 points, evening the match at 2-all.

Thereafter Bedanova could do little right. She lost 10 consecutive games, winning only seven points in the final seven games.

The match was nothing like what Hingis will face next, because Bedanova -- like Hingis -- relies on placement and anticipation rather than the power game favored by Williams.

"I was actually surprised today," Hingis said. "It's like the balls are actually coming at me at a slower pace. But still I welcome this game with open arms. You don't see that too often from a youngster. She's much more a strategy player than a hard-hitter. That's very unusual these days."