Hingis back on form at US Open

Martina Hingis showed no ill effects from the ankle injury which kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon as she successfully…

Martina Hingis showed no ill effects from the ankle injury which kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon as she successfully came through a busy night at the US Open.

The Swiss star enjoyed a 6-3 6-4 win over South Africa's Amanda Coetzer in the third round of the women's singles in New York, thus setting up a clash with another former Flushing Meadows champion in Monica Seles.

Then, following a brief rest while Jennifer Capriati thrashed fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2 6-2, Hingis teamed up with Anna Kournikova to win a doubles match against Laura Granville and Jennifer Hopkins 6-1 6-2.

"It's like having two surgeries in less than 10 months, it definitely toughens you up in a way," said Hingis.

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Venus Williams remains on course for a hat-trick of US Open titles after coasting into the fourth round.

She has dropped just six games in getting to this stage in barely two hours on court and only sister Serena looks capable of stopping the defending champion on this form.

Her latest victim was Germany's Martina Muller, a 19-year-old whose game is in a different league to that of the elder Williams sister.

Williams cruised to a 6-1 6-2 win in just 41 minutes to reach the last 16, and is looking good to repeat her title wins of 2000 and last year.

She sent down one stunning 115mph serve as she outpowered and outclassed the 19-year-old who fell in the first round on her first appearance here last year.

In the men's draw, sixth seed and two-time winner Andre Agassi routed Paraguay's Ramon Delgado 6-2 6-1 6-2.

The 32-year-old American, who is tied with Lleyton Hewitt and Carlos Moya with four ATP titles this year, has cruised in his first three matches here.

"I think you're always pleasantly surprised when the scoreline suggests that it was an easy match," Agassi said. "I think the score suggests that it was a lot easier than it was.

"For me, it wasn't comfortable until I was up two sets and two breaks. I really felt like it was a good standard of tennis."

Hewitt stumbled into round four after coming through his much-anticipated tussle with James Blake.

On the Arthur Ashe Stadium, world number one Hewitt was in trouble and was taken to a final set against the impressive young American.

Blake took the opening set of their encounter on a tie-break, before Aussie Hewitt asserted himself and went 2-1 up.

But Blake re-established himself to take the fourth set and forced a decider.

Hewitt claimed the only break of the fifth set, to love in the sixth game, and then held and took his third match-point with an ace to the backhand court.

He won 6-7 (7/5) 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3.

At last year's Open, the pair were involved in a controversial match when Hewitt questioned a foot-fault call, so this was a potential match-up which stood out when the draw was announced last week.

It was at the second-round stage when controversy erupted 12 months ago.

Blake is black and Hewitt questioned the legality of an African-American line judge's call, telling the chair umpire: "Look at him mate and tell me what the similarity is."

The Aussie world number one, who went on to win the men's title, later denied his words were racist.

He will face Jiri Novak in the fourth round after the Czech led Marcelo Rios by two sets and the Chilean pulled out injured.