Hingis Upends Davenport at WTA Indian Wells

An Indian Wells champ in 1998, the Swiss was particularly on form in the third set when she made one lone unforced error. It was Hingis' second Top 5 victory since her comeback in January after defeating Maria Sharapova.

"Beating Lindsay here under these circumstances on this occasion, it's definitely not easy for me to play her," said Hingis, who made only 14 total unforced errors during the three sets to Davenport's 42, speaking with reporters after the match. "But now I know that I have the potential to meld with the best, and that's very helpful (for my) confidence."

Davenport still leads the storied career head-to-head with Hingis 14-11.

"She really makes you go for a lot, and think about shots," Davenport told reporters. "Great mover, places the ball extremely well. I felt like I didn't play great, but I thought she played very smart, which is typical of her. That's what she does best. I mean, she's always going to be a good player and be dangerous to anybody."

Davenport noted a disc injury she has been suffering in her back, and said doctors have recommended she rest the injury.

"I have this tournament and then Miami," Davenport told reporters. "Then I think it's about four to six weeks off."

In the quarters the No. 19-seeded Swiss will face No. 10-seeded Russian Dinara Safina, who upset her No. 5-seeded compatriot Anastasia Myskina 6-1 6-3.

There were no other upsets on the day, with seeds safely into the quarters including (1) Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. (14) Sugiyama), (3) Maria Sharapova (d. (21) Peer), (4) Elena Dementieva (d. N.Li), (7) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (d. Ani), (8) Ana Ivanovic (d. (22) Chakvetadze), and (17) Gisela Dulko (d. Laine), all in straight sets.

Scheduled for Wednesday in Indian Wells are (19) Hingis vs. (10) Safina (first career meeting), (3) Sharapova vs. (7) Groenefeld (Russian leads 2-0), and in doubles highlights (1) Raymond/Stosur vs. (8) Li/Sun.