Something Must Give in Australian Final : Tennis: Sanchez Vicario defeats Werdel Witmeyer. Pierce rolls over Martinez. Neither has lost a set.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Mary Pierce slashed and burned their way to the final of the Australian Open, erasing opponents with an almost carefree dispatch. Neither player has lost a set.

There was little danger of any blemish on that record in today’s semifinals at the National Tennis Center. Sanchez Vicario defeated Marianne Werdel Witmeyer, 6-4, 6-1, and Pierce defeated Conchita Martinez, 6-3, 6-1, to set up Saturday’s final.

Werdel Witmeyer stuck with the tactic that brought her to her first Grand Slam semifinal: She hit every ball with tremendous pace and tried to place shots in the corners. It was the kind of style that enabled Werdel Witmeyer to upset fifth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini in the first round and propelled her through a favorable draw.

It is the very sort of style on which Sanchez Vicario thrives. The Spaniard loves nothing so much as chasing down sharply hit balls and surprising her opponent by getting it back--often for a winner.

“There are a lot of players that run well,” Werdel Witmeyer said. “But very few run well and can hurt you at the same time. A lot of players can get to the balls and hit a defensive shot back, whereas she gets to the ball and hits an aggressive shot back.”

Werdel Witmeyer was unwittingly describing the attributes that have brought Sanchez Vicario to the brink of being No. 1 in the world. She’s the top-seeded player here, and should she beat Pierce in the final, Sanchez Vicario will replace Steffi Graf at the top of the rankings.

On her way to achieving that, she has shrugged off all challenges as if her opponents were no more than the pesky flies that divebomb players and spectators here. Although it wasn’t as challenging as it might have been: Sanchez Vicario has not faced a seeded player here.

Sanchez Vicario forced Werdel Witmeyer into 43 unforced errors and was all precision and no wasted motion on the court. The match lasted 72 minutes.

As ever, Sanchez Vicario was all business after the match, not much interested in dissecting what had just happened. Instead, she looked ahead to playing Pierce.

“I did what I had to do,” she said. “First of all, I wanted to get into the final, because that’s what I did last year, and now I’m here.

“I think we’re both playing very well and it’s going to be the second time we play each other in the final of a Grand Slam and it’s going to be on a different surface. (They met in the 1994 French Open final, which Sanchez Vicario won, 6-4, 6-4, on clay.) But I look to the match with confidence.”

Werdel Witmeyer, who has been receiving faxed tips from her coach, Woody Blocher of Escondido, had a great run here.

“I’m pleased,” she said. “I’ve had a great week so it’s nothing really to be disappointed about.”

Werdel Witmeyer’s week has greatly improved her ranking. It is expected that she will move from No. 47 on the computer to somewhere in the mid-30s.

Pierce, of France, had little trouble beating second-seeded Martinez. Pierce was treated for a problem with her shoulder and Martinez for a problem with the arch in her right foot and the level of play by each player was not particularly high.

“Well, I just didn’t play,” Martinez said. “I mean, I made so many mistakes. I think I wasn’t ready, it was quite early to play a semifinal match. I did everything right. I wake up early and good breakfast, and blah, blah, blah. I just don’t know, I couldn’t do my best.”

Pierce, seeded fourth, hasn’t won a title since October of 1993 and that victory, at Filderstadt, Germany, was her only title of that year. She acknowledged her play against Martinez was sub-par.

“I just think I’m human and you can’t play your best tennis all the time,” she said. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing, I think I’m playing well, but I can definitely play better.”