Teenager Reaches Final

A day after upsetting Steffi Graf, the world’s No. 1 woman player, 15-year-old Martina Hingis showed it was no fluke.

In a display of shot-making and remarkable maturity, she defeated the more experienced No. 7 seed, Irina Spirlea, 6-2 and 7-5 in an Italian Open semifinal in Rome.

The Swiss youngster will meet No. 2 seed Conchita Martinez in today’s final. Martinez, seeking a record fourth consecutive Italian title, defeated No. 4 Iva Majoli of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 in a 2-hour, 20-minute semifinal.

Unseeded Spaniards Roberto Carretero and Alex Corretja will play for the German Open title in Hamburg after straight-set victories over seeded opponents in the semifinals.

Carretero ousted third-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 7-5, 6-2 and Corretja beat Marcelo Rios, the fifth-seeded Chilean, 6-4, 6-4.

At Pinehurst, N.C., Mats Wilander put himself in position to break a six-year title drought with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Javier Frana in the semifinals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships. He will play Fernando Meligeni in today’s championship match. Meligeni won 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 over sixth-seeded Jason Stoltenberg.