X-DoNotUse-Sports

Hingis Ends Seles' Maurier

August 22, 1999 / 8:27 PM EDT / AP

Martina Hingis ended Monica Seles' four-year reign as champion of the $1.05 million du Maurier Open on Sunday, and gathered some momentum for the U.S. Open.

Hingis, who regained her world No. 1 ranking earlier this month, swept Seles 6-4, 6-4 in a final that took just over than an hour.

The 18-year-old from Switzerland has recovered nicely following a meltdown in the final of the French Open and then a loss in the first round at Wimbledon.

"I feel a bit better than I did after those tournaments," Hingis said. "I think I also have reason to winning the last two out of three tournaments."

Hingis was so giddy on receiving her $150,000 check that she complimented tournament organizer Jane Wynne on her dress and told a Mountie she liked his boots.

"Those boots, I love them," said Hingis, who is an avid horsewoman. "They're going to send me some. We're talking a deal. I give him a racket. He gives me the boots."

Seles, ranked No. 5 in the world and the second seed here, has been a fan favorite here ever since she chose the du Maurier to make her comeback in 1995 after taking 27 months off while recovering from being stabbed in the back by a male spectator during a 1993 tournament in Germany.

But the 25-year-old Seles struggled to regain her form throughout the week after taking time off because of injuries.

She was not confident about a stress fracture in her right foot going into the final, though she said after the match that it didn't bother her.

Seles was unable to win big points on heart as she had earlier in the tournament and looked tired as she tried to chase down Hingis, who has superior foot speed.

Seles had a better first-serve percentage, but made 16 unforced errors to Hingis' nine. Hingis won three of three break points.

"To win the match, I had to have a lot of shorter points," Seles said. "I battled hard, but then I made stupid mistakes."

"I'm disappointed that I lost today's match, definitely even more because I won so many years in a row."

Hingis ended Seles' match winning streak at the du Maurier at 24 and improved to 8-2 in career meetings between the two and 5-0 in tournament finals.

Hingis became the youngest player to reach $10 million in career earnings when she won her semifinal match. Seles earned $70,000 as runner-up.