INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 16 (UPI) -- A new power player introduced herself on the women's tennis scene Saturday when Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia breezed past second-seeded Martina Hingis, 6-3, 6-4, to capture her first career WTA Tour title at the Pacific Life Open.
The 18-year-old and 18th-seeded Hantuchova earned the $332,000 top prize, became the lowest seed to win a Tier I event (post-1980).
Earlier Saturday, top seed Lleyton Hewitt cruised past No. 10 Pete Sampras, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the men's final.
On Sunday, Hewitt will take on No. 9 Tim Henman of Britain, who converted all four break-point chances in his 6-3, 6-3 victory over wild-card Todd Martin.
Hantuchova overpowered Hingis with her groundstrokes, firing 30 winners. She sailed to a 6-2, 4-1 lead before the magnitude of the moment seemed to get the teen-ager.
A five-time Grand Slam winner, Hingis twice broke Hantuchova's serve to reel off three of the next four games and move within a game of knotting the second set.
But the Bratislava resident collected herself long enough to serve out the match. As if to underscore the power she used to dictate the match against the former world No. 1, Hantuchova picked out the right corner on match point with a potent two-handed backhand, then raised her arms in triumph.
Hantuchova is the newest addition to the crew of power players who have knocked Hingis off the top of the tennis world.
Hingis captured five of nine Grand Slam titles from 1997-99. Since then, she has lost three straight Australian Open finals -- to Lindsay Davenport in 1999 and fellow American Jennifer Capriati each of the last two years.
The rise of the Venus and Serena Williams also has hampered Hingis' efforts to regain the No. 1 ranking.
Although Sampras has won two Indian Wells titles and a record 13 Grand Slam crowns, Hewitt recorded four aces and never faced a break point on his serve. By contrast.
The Australian extended his winning streak against the former world No. 1 to four matches.
Hewitt also made Sampras' serve look ordinary in the U.S. Open final last September. Sampras entered that Grand Slam final having won 87 straight service games, but Hewitt broke in the opening game of the match and went on to post a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Hewitt, who became youngest player to finish the year at No. 1 in the history of the men's rankings, reached his first Indian Wells final. A year ago, he lost in the semifinals to another American, eventual champion Andre Agassi.
The 21-year-old extended his winning streak to 10 matches with his victory over Sampras. In his first tournament after enduring chicken pox, Hewitt captured the San Jose hardcourt title two weeks ago with a triumph over Agassi.
The Adelaide native has dropped just one set this week.
Hewitt has won 33 of 37 matches since the start of last year's U.S. Open. During the stretch, he has captured four titles, including the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.
Henman advanced to his second career Tennis Masters Series final. The 27-year-old was the runner-up at Cincinnati in 2000. He also raised his career record in TMS semifinals to 2-3, having advanced to the final four at Cincinnati last year and the semifinals at Toronto and Miami in 1998.
Henman improved to 4-3 edge lifetime against Martin. The British No. 1 also beat Martin in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.
