Unstoppable Hingis Into Semis at Indian Wells, Sharapova Next

"I'm very happy with the progress I'm making," Hingis said. "Today probably wasn't all the prettiest game, but it was effective at the end of the day. I'm happy to be through, in the semis again."

Hingis will next face new rival and No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova, who eased past No. 7 Anna-Lena Groenefeld in her quarterfinal 6-1, 6-3.

Hingis overwhelmed Sharapova in their first-ever meeting in February at Tokyo, then later in the month the Russian returned the favor with a straight-set win at Dubai.

"Yeah, it's fun, I guess. That's all you can say," an unsure-sounding Sharapova told reporters on another match-up with the Swiss. "You know, third time playing against her, third consecutive tournament for me. It's going to be a good match, I guess. I'm hoping. I guess you never know. But I'm hoping to keep playing well and keep being aggressive and being patient at times where I need to be patient. In Dubai, I basically took my opportunities, you know, the ones that I had. In Tokyo, even when I felt like I could get back in the match, I didn't take my opportunities, made a few errors."

Quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday in Indian Wells are Dementieva vs. Ivanovic (first meeting), and Henin-Hardenne vs. Dulko (first meeting).