Sony Ericsson WTA Tour : 2006


Hingis and Davenport Set for Showdown

Top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne had to wait an extra day to make her 2006 Pacific Life Open debut, but wasted no time in picking up where she left off

The 23-year-old Belgian, who claimed the 2004 trophy as the top seed in her last appearance in the desert, dominated Bulgarian opponent Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-2 to continue her Indian Wells streak of straight-set victories.

Henin-Hardenne has now gone nine matches without dropping a set - last doing so in the first-set of her 2002 opener against Maja Matevzic. She recorded victories over No. 12 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 4 seed Anastasia Myskina and No. 3 Lindsay Davenport en route to the title win in 2004.

Davenport and Martina Hingis also eased their way to victory Sunday - Davenport picking up the 6-4, 6-0 win and Hingis the 6-0, 6-3 win - to set up a spectacular fourth-round showdown between the former Indian Wells champions.

The two have faced off 24 times throughout their careers, with Davenport holding the 14-10 advantage. They split their two previous meetings in Indian Wells, with Hingis prevailing in the 1998 final and Davenport in the 2000 final.

"I'm very excited," said Hingis. "We've had great battles over the years, and now that I haven't played her since my comeback, it's definitely a great challenge. We always played one of the best matches because we knew every time we played, either we win the tournament or we were close to doing so, so always brought the best tennis out of each other."

Russians Maria Sharapova, the No. 3 seed, and fifth seed Anastasia Myskina also picked up third-round victories Sunday. Sharapova topped American Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-0 on Center Court, while Myskina defeated No. 27 seed Marta Domachowska of Poland, 7-5, 6-3.


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