Dementieva next for triumphant Hingis

Martina Hingis has pulled off a shock victory against Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The Swiss star, who retired three years ago but returned to action in January, stunned the Russian top seed 6-3 6-1 in only 66 minutes.

She will now meet second-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva, who advanced to the final with a 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory over fourth seed Anastasia Myskina.

The 25-year-old Hingis, a four-time winner at the event and seeking her 41st career singles title, advanced to a tournament final for the first time since her comeback.

After winning the first set, Hingis dropped the opening game of the second set before taking the final six games to defeat Sharapova in their first encounter on the WTA Tour.

“When Maria was about 12 years old, I was visiting (Nick) Bolletieri’s Academy in Florida and met five young girls,” Hingis said.

“Maria was one of them. I hit a little bit with her and she was already outstanding amongst the girls. I've always said Maria was the one player I wanted to play on my return to tennis.”

Entering the tournament as a wild card, Hingis posted a first-round ‘double-bagel’ victory over South Korea’s Yoon Jeong Cho before a three-set triumph against third-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France.

Since then, the Swiss has not lost a set in defeating Russia’s Maria Kirilenko in the quarter-finals and the 18-year-old Sharapova, who has not reached a tournament final since defeating Jelena Jankovic at Birmingham, England last June.

The 24-year-old Dementieva defeated Czech Klara Koukalova in straight sets after an opening-round bye.

However, she had to go the distance for the second straight match against Myskina after her quarter-final victory over fellow Russian Elena Likhovtseva.

Looking for her fifth career title on tour, Dementieva will try to defeat Hingis for the third straight time. The Russian took their previous meeting in the round-of-16 at Filderstadt, Germany in 2002.