Having struggled in the past against Conchita Martinez, top-ranked Martina Hingis was prepared for their final match in the Bank of the West Classic.
Martinez wasn't.Hingis overpowered a tired and sluggish Martinez to win her second straight Bank of the West 6-0, 6-2 Sunday. Hingis, the top seed, took only 53 minutes under sunny skies for the decisive victory.
Martinez, seeded sixth, had played Saturday night until almost midnight, and said she was only able to catch six hours of sleep before getting up for Sunday's match.
"When you have a final, you know, you don't sleep like a rock," she said wearily.
Hingis, who took it easy after her recent Wimbledon victory, said she was comfortable and confident against Martinez.
"If you play her too much to the forehand she kills you," Hingis said. "You just try to play her fast and not get her too much into the rhythm."
Hingis, who improved her 1997 record to 50-1, kept Martinez off-balance throughout, mixing a strong backhand and soft drop shots to keep the Spaniard on the run.
Hingis appeared to get a bit complacent in the second set, dropping two straight games after winning the first.
After Martinez won her first game, she raised her arms in victory and grinned to warm applause from the sellout crowd of 4,479 at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Hingis, smiling and relaxed for the most part, only briefly showed frustration during the fifth game of the second set when she sloppily hit a shot into the net. She sliced the air with her racket and sighed loudly.
For most of the match, however, the Swiss teen-ager kept Martinez on the defensive. Martinez made 35 unforced errors and double faulted twice.
It was the first meeting between the two this year. Previously, Martinez had defeated Hingis twice; in the Italian Open last year and at Hamburg, Germany, in 1995.
Martinez said it was difficult to compare this match to her past victories, because she was too exhausted to play effectively. The 25-year-old simply "couldn't hurt Hingis with any of my shots," she said.
"I would love to be fully prepared and not tired at all and be able to play my game," she said.
Both players hold the distinction of being Wimbledon champions, Martinez having won in 1994 and Hingis this year.
Indoors in Oakland, Calif., last year, Hingis beat Monica Seles for her first the Bank of the West title. This year, Seles lost to Martinez in the quarterfinals.
This was the first time the $450,000 event was being held outdoors on the hardcourts at Stanford.
Generali Open
KITZBUEHEL, Austria - Tenth-seeded Filip Dewulf of Belgium overpowered Spain's ailing Julian Alonso 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-1 Sunday to win the Generali Open clay court tournament.
"I think it was the worst match we played in this tournament, because there were a lot of mistakes, no rhythm; I think he was a little tired," said Dewulf, who had reached the semifinals of the French Open this year.
Alonso, 19, had won his 15 previous matches, and risen to 92 in the ATP rankings. But from the start, his energy seemed to be flagging, and he was running a slight fever. After the second set, he was ready to retire, but a doctor concluded he was well enough to play.
Until Sunday - when the court was bathed in sunlight - the tournament had been plagued by rain, and several matches had to be interrupted.
In the doubles final, Australians Wayne Arthurs and Richard Fromberg beat the Austrian duo of Thomas Buchmayer and Thomas Strengberger 6-4, 6-3.
Croatia Open
UMAG, Croatia - Third-seeded Felix Mantilla beat fellow Spaniard and No. 1 Sergi Bruguera 6-3, 7-5 Sunday to win the Croatia Open.
It was the fourth title of Mantilla's career and his third ATP victory in six weeks. He previously won ATP events at Bologna and Gstaad. With his victory Sunday, he will advance three places in the world rankings, to 11th, equalling the best of his career.
Bruguera, seeking his first title since August 1994, did not have a break point in the first set. Mantilla broke Bruguera's service at 2-2 and won eight of the next nine games.
Mantilla led 4-0 in the second set, but Bruguera rallied. He won five games in a row and was two points away from winning the set, at 30-30 and 5-4.
But Mantilla broke Bruguera's serve in the 11th game for the fourth time and went on to win the match and the $54,000 first prize.