Unseeded Rubin Stuns No. 1 Hingis in Evert Cup

There must be something in the water here this week. If you are a top star on the women’s tennis tour whose name isn’t Steffi Graf, it goes something like this: You drink it, you lose.

That’s as good an explanation as any for what has happened in the Evert Cup tournament on the plush grounds of the Grand Champions Resort, and for what happened to top-seeded and top-ranked Martina Hingis Wednesday.

Hingis, back on top of her game and cruising into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins, got taken out in a shocker by unseeded Chanda Rubin, a former top 10 player now ranked No. 26 in the world. Rubin, who has struggled since undergoing wrist surgery in 1996, had Hingis on her heels throughout in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) stunner.

“I think she played an unbelievable match,” Hingis said. “I was always one step late and too defensive today.”

With the departure of Hingis, the remnants of the Evert Cup draw looked like the brackets from a qualifying event in Dubuque.

No. 2 Lindsay Davenport was ousted Sunday by Serena Williams, followed quickly Monday by No. 3 Monica Seles, a victim of Henrieta Nagyova. No. 6 Mary Pierce got bounced Wednesday, losing to unseeded Williams, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1).

That left No. 4 Jana Novotna, the defending Wimbledon champion, to deal with the venerable, resilient, about-to-make-another-run-at-the-top Graf. And Graf, looking much more like the player who has won 21 Grand Slam titles and 880 matches on the women’s tour than an aging, fragile has-been, destroyed Novotna, 6-2, 6-0.

And that left the German veteran, now 29 but back up to No. 7 in the world, the highest-seeded survivor at No. 5.

The semifinals now pit Graf against Rubin and Williams against Sandrine Testud, the No. 12-seeded player from France, who eliminated Nagyova Wednesday, 6-1, 6-3.

Were Rubin and Williams to make the final, they would be just the second African-American finals combination on the WTA tour. Lori McNeil and Zina Garrison were the first, becoming finalists in 1985 in Tampa, Fla., and also playing in a final in Birmingham, England, as recently as 1995.

Hingis, off to a 15-2 start this season and a Grand Slam title at the Australian--her fifth Grand Slam title at the ripe old age of 18--ran into a fast and athletic opponent who was willing to roll the dice on every shot. Rubin, gunning for the lines, made 43 unforced errors, 10 more than Hingis, but punished Hingis’ mediocre second serve and held on when Hingis rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the second set.

“I was kind of annoyed with myself towards the end there,” Rubin said. “But I just kept telling myself to stay aggressive and do the things that I had been doing.”

In the tiebreaker, Rubin got to match point by approaching off a deep forehand and tapping away a backhand volley. Then she won with a 78-mph first serve that kicked wide to Hingis’ forehand in the deuce court and forced the lunging Hingis to return long and wide.

“This is the best win of my career,” Rubin said. “She’s No. 1 in the world.”

Williams and Pierce drew a packed house on the Grandstand court and gave the fans a great show of what broadcaster Mary Carillo has dubbed “big-babe tennis.” Translated, that means two nicely muscled females cranking shots at each other. Williams was the better cranker in this one, and she is now closing in on a top 10 spot, where she would join her sister, Venus, currently No. 5, but not playing singles here this week.

“I just found out today that I’m definitely getting close [to the top 10],” Serena Williams said. “That’s one of my goals. After that, the top five.”

Graf’s win made her 29-4 overall against Novotna. “She plays a similar game to mine,” Graf said. “Maybe that’s why I do so well. I ought to know how to play against myself.”