Amelie Mauresmo thumped Martina Hingis 7-5 6-3 in a titanic grudge match at the Sydney International yesterday, setting up a final with defending champion Lindsay Davenport, who beat Anna Kournikova 6-3 6-2.

In the men's draw, Jason Stoltenberg will play Lleyton Hewitt in the first all-Australian final since John Alexander triumphed over John Fitzgerald in 1982. Hewitt clinched his place in the final beating Spain's Alex Corretja 6-4 6-4 while Stoltenberg outclassed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4 6-2.

It was sweet revenge for Mauresmo who lost to Hingis in the Australian Open final last year and was insulted by the Swiss world number one who took exception to her muscular physique and lesbian partner.

Mauresmo came out fighting, determined to let her racquet do the talking, winning a close first set in 51 minutes. Her blistering form continued in the second, running to a 4-1 lead before Hingis clawed back to 4-3. But Mauresmo was too good, taking the next two games and winning with an ace.

"I've played some great matches in the past. Today was a very high level - it's one of the best. It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season," she said.

Hingis said she had difficulty coping with Mauresmo's topspin and blamed her loss on a lack of match practice early in the season.

"She's pretty confident, seems to be fit, moves well around the court and is hitting some solid backhands," she said.

Meanwhile, Australian Mark Philippoussis displayed considerable composure with a two set win over Pete Sampras, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), at the Kooyong Classic, Melbourne. He will now play world number one Andre Agassi in today's final.

Sampras rued losing to Philippoussis without dropping serve, but said his game was in fine fettle for next week's first grand slam tournament of the year.

In the draw made in Melbourne yesterday for the Australian Open, Sampras has been drawn to face top seed Andre Agassi in the semi-finals.

In the women's draw, US Open champion and third seed Serena Williams is in the top half with number one seed and defending champion Martina Hingis. Second seed Lindsay Davenport heads the bottom half with France's fourth seed Mary Pierce.