Williams Next Tries to Get Past Hingis

They are the two youngest finalists to vie for a Grand Slam title in the Open era. They are two of the most confident teenagers anyone is likely to meet.

Martina Hingis, the 16-year-old No. 1, will have to get through 17-year-old Venus Williams, who demonstrated Friday that she backs down to no one.

That point was made clear in Williams’ semifinal match against Irina Spirlea. In that thrilling three-set match, Spirlea and Williams collided as they walked to their chairs during a changeover.

Spirlea admitted she instigated the bizarre incident out of frustration at Williams’ refusal to give ground while the players passed each other in the tight quarters in front of the umpire’s chair.

Spirlea used an obscenity when referring to Williams after the match.

On Saturday, Williams’ father, coach and manager, Richard Williams, called Spirlea “a big, tall, white turkey,” and told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla., that the incident was racially motivated.

“I’ve seen a lot of racial things happen to my baby. I think what happened to Venus yesterday was a racial thing,” Williams said.

“There have been a lot of people . . . take cheap shots at Venus,” he said. “I’ve heard sly remarks.”

Gigi Fernandez, a doubles specialist who announced her retirement after losing in the doubles finals Saturday, denied the racial charges. “No, absolutely not,” Fernandez said. “There’s no racism on the women’s tour. We’ve had Zina [Garrison Jackson] and Lori [McNeil] on the tour. No prejudice that way.

“I adamantly deny that.”

Williams is ranked No. 66 and has used this tournament to announce her presence on a tour she has been playing on only a part-time basis.

Hingis has defeated Williams in straight sets both times they have played.

But Williams is so poised it is easy to forget this is only her 10th tournament of the year and that she never has been in a final, let alone the final of a Grand Slam event.

If the grandness of the occasion has seeped into the teenager’s consciousness, she has not betrayed that. Williams has never presented herself in a manner that would suggest she’d do anything other than relish the chance to bask in the spotlight.

“I’ve never been that type of person who is scared, fearful,” Williams said. “I can’t let that hold me back. I won’t. This is a chance of a lifetime.”

Of course, Hingis is not noted for her skittishness on court. She’s not afraid of facing Williams, whom she calls “the youngster” even though she is actually four months older.

“Venus is just the player who has nothing to lose,” Hingis said, sounding as if she were describing herself. “She goes out there. She thinks she can beat anyone in the world. I don’t know.”