Seles joins Hingis in semi-finals

Melbourne:

Monica Seles set up a dream semi-final against Martina Hingis when she shattered the Australian Open hopes of Venus Williams today. The veteran nine-time Grand Slam champion fought off a fever and a tenacious, but injured, Williams 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3 to secure a first major semi-final appearance since the French Open in 1999. Seles, who revealed she had developed a fever this morning, won on her second match point when Williams netted a forehand from the baseline after one hour 57 minutes. The elder Williams sister, troubled by tendonitis in left knee in her earlier matches, doubled her trouble by pulling a right hamstring against Seles. It hampered her movement and ultimately cost her the chance to avenge her beating by Hingis in the semis here last year. Hingis had a much easier time of it to make her 19th Grand Slam last four. The third seed from Switzerland beat Italy's Adriana Serra-Zanetti in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 in 73 minutes to reach the last-four stage. This is the sixth consecutive time Hingis has reached the Australian Open semi-finals. Hingis is chasing her sixth Grand Slam title but she hasn't landed a major since her last Australian Open in 1999.