Martina Hingis was certainly waiting for the duel, after losing the last game against Wiliams not more than 2 weeks ago, in the Warsaw Open. And she got her revenge now. Known as one of the most spectacular duels in the history of tennis, the clash between Hingis and Venus Williams was top priority in Saturday's Italian Open.

And it sure did provide enough excitement for the crowd. Hingis did not even get comfortably in the game, that she already saw 0-6 on the board. It was all Williams in the first set, the Swiss not managing to provide a strong response to the American's incredible tennis aptitude. Well, the unforced errors didn't help her either.

But all of that changed in the second set, when Martina got back on her feet and fought back to even the score with a 6-3 triumph. The third, as most of their matches so far, was a much tensed set, but Hingis kept her cool and beat Williams 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 after a long, long time. It was their 20th semifinal, so the two players obviously knew each other very well before the game. This time, though, the former tennis sensation - maybe that could repeat in the near future - succeeded in making a great statement before the Rolland Garros in June.

Both Hingis and Williams couldn't have found a better timing for their form recovery. If Hingis was already on roll for some time now, the American reached her first semifinal in a WTA Open since last year's Rolland Garros. Now, both players have a lot to hope for when it comes to the French Open. Until then ... Hingis has to overcome one more step to make it official in Italy. In the other semifinal, Russian sensation Dinara Safina beat favorite Zvatlana Kusnetzova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, to set up a Sunday clash with the former number one Martina Hingis. Every once in a while, Safin's sister tends to produce big surprises in the WTA Tour. Well, now it's certainly her time to demonstrate that she is no longer a young hope, but a mature player, ready to take on one of the most valuable players in tennis history. We'll just wait and see what happens in Sunday's Italian Open final.