PARIS -- Martina Hingis, seeking the only Grand Slam title still missing from her resume, beat defending champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-3, 6-2 today to reach the final of the French Open.
Hingis breezed into a 5-0 lead in the opening set, but then had a brief lapse to allow Sanchez-Vicario to cut the deficit. Hingis regained her composure and won in 63 minutes to reach her second final at Roland Garros. The match was delayed by rain."I was very focused from the beginning, I played very intelligently," Hingis said.
"It's this time or never," Hingis said.
In the second women's semifinal, Monica Seles played Steffi Graf.
The men's semifinals are Friday with Andrei Medvedev back in it six years after reaching the final four.
In between, Medvedev rose to No. 4 in the world, enjoyed some of the finer things in life, but also had knee surgery, a fractured wrist, back injuries and shoulder problems. His interest in the game waned.
He came to this year's tournament ranked No. 100 in the world.
But there had been a significant change: three months ago, Medvedev got reunited with his girlfriend, German player Anke Huber.
Love helps, and Medvedev began his remarkable comeback by ousting Pete Sampras in the second round and then dispatching 1997 champion Gustavo Kuerten 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Now he is in the semifinals again and will face another Brazilian, Fernando Meligeni, who upset Spain's sixth-seeded Alex Corretja 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Corretja, last year's runner-up, said he was weakened by a mysterious allergic reaction.
The other semifinal Friday will feature Andre Agassi, at No. 13 the only seeded man left, against 21-year-old Slovak Dominik Hrbaty.
Medvedev was only 18 when he reached his first semifinal at Roland Garros in 1993, and he was considered a prodigious talent capable of becoming No. 1. But injuries and a hectic personal life took their toll.
The Ukrainian makes no secret that his reunion with Huber is bolstering his frame of mind.
"I don't think there is anybody happier on earth than me right now," Medvedev said after beating Kuerten.
"It is like a second birth in tennis, in life. When there is love, you're inspired, you can write poems, you can write music, you can play good tennis."
Hingis has won all the Grand Slam tournaments except the French. The other three have won 11 of the last 12 French Open titles between them.