Mary Pierce, ranked fifth in the world, beat the 14-year-old Swiss tennis prodigy 6-4, 6-0 in the second round of the $750,000 European Indoors tennis tournament Thursday.
The tournament's veteran Martina, top seed Martina Navratilova, was upset in Friday's quarterfinals by Helena Sukova, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
The tone of Hingis's match was set with a break in the first game. Pierce took the first three points on Hingis errors with the Swiss girl caught deep out of position in the corner of the court. The errors continued and Pierce raced to a 3-0 lead before Hingis won her first game. Pierce, a 19-year-old French-American who plays for France, had kind words about her younger opponent."I'm impressed,'' she said. "Every time I hit a weaker return, she immediately put on the pressure and made me run.''
Hingis, playing her first professional tournament and considered the brightest star of her generation. was upbeat about her result. "At least I've now experienced how fast the game is at the top,'' she said.
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