Hingis Sneezes Into the Semifinals

Martina Hingis has a cold.

This mundane information is being passed around the women’s locker room at the All England Club, reviewed, and assessed for import. At this point with the No. 1-ranked Hingis, a virus has a better chance of stopping her than anyone left in the tournament.

As expected, Switzerland’s Hingis had little trouble defeating Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-2.

She will face unseeded Anna Kournikova in today’s semifinals. Kournikova, 16, upset fourth-ranked Iva Majoli, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.

Jana Novotna and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario will meet in the other semifinal. Novotna defeated Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia, 6-3, 6-3. Sanchez Vicario defeated Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-2, 7-5.

Hingis played her childhood friend and made quick work of it. Chladkova was overmatched against Hingis, who has lost only one match this year. Her match today against Kournikova reprises their meeting May 31 at the French Open, which Hingis won, 6-1, 6-3.

“I played very well in Paris, but here on this surface [grass as opposed to clay], I think she feels much more confident,” Hingis said. “She’s got nothing to lose. She’s improving and improving by each match. So that’s going to be a tough one, for sure.”

Speaking in a nasal voice, Hingis revealed that she has a slight cold, which sent a ridiculous ripple through the news media. So little information is forthcoming from Hingis that even a common cold causes uncommon interest.

Interest in Kournikova is high, greater than for most players ranked No. 42. But she’s even less interested than Hingis in speaking to the media.

Majoli did talk about the match and rued her missed chances. The French Open champion was serving for the set at 5-3, but Kournikova won three consecutive games. Majoli broke to force a tiebreaker, but the Russian prevailed.

Kournikova’s advance through the tournament has been slow but steady. Given the dynamic nature of grass, Kournikova’s small size and relative lack of strength make her a surprising semifinalist in her first Wimbledon.

Neither Novotna of the Czech Republic nor Sanchez Vicario of Spain is a stranger to the Wimbledon semifinals, each having gone at least that far in the tournament twice. Novotna, whose game is perfect for grass, expressed her usual confidence about the match against her former doubles partner.

“I don’t think she’s had a real contest yet, it’s really hard to tell how well she’s playing,” Novotna said. “She had a very good draw. She had some easy rounds and she came through.”