Hingis Hammers Way By Davenport To Title

Martina Hingis, hammering groundstrokes that sent Lindsay Davenport scurrying from sideline to sideline, won the State Farm Evert Cup 6-3, 6-4 Saturday.

In the showdown between the world’s top two women players, Hingis lived up to her No. 1 ranking with a dominant performance over Davenport, who had beaten her last month in Japan.

After the rain-delayed start, Davenport, who was 4-5 against Hingis in nine previous meetings, seemed out of rhythm and quickly found herself down 0-5 before finally winning a game.

The women’s final was delayed 2 hours by showers. But once it started, it was all Hingis.

Hingis won the Australian Open in January and has lost just two matches this year. She avenged both those in the Evert Cup, defeating Venus Williams, who had beaten her in Sydney, in the semifinals, then Davenport.

The title was the 16th for the 17-year-old Swiss star, who came within one title - the French Open - of winning the Grand Slam last year.