Safina stuns Clijsters with long-awaited win

By Bill Scott May 18, 2006, 18:32 GMT

Rome - Dinara Safina claimed her first victory after six defeats against Kim Clijsters, upsetting the second seed 6-4, 7-6 (7- 2) Thursday at the 1.34-million-dollar Rome Masters to reach the quarterfinals.

The surprise also ends any chance of Clijsters returning to the world number 1 ranking, a feat she could have accomplished for the third time in her career had she lifted the title at the weekend.

'I started missing from the start and just totally lost my confidence,' said Clijsters.'I couldn't do what I had to do, I didn't have the game to beat her in the second set.

'I tried to play like I had in our other matches, but it was an off-day today.'

Safina, ranked 19th, had never even claimed a set against Clijsters, who managed to take the match into a tiebreaker but handed over five straight errors to effectively kill her chances of a comeback.

Safina converted on a second match point to break her duck against the reigning US Open champion. Clijsters won a clay trophy earlier this month in Warsaw.

'I saw that she wasn't playing well, I told myself that I had to take my chances, I had to go for them,' said Safina, who net faces fifth-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva, a winner over Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-1.

'Kim is a great baseliner and she hits the ball hard. You just have to wait for any little chance you get and take it. It's really difficult to play her.'

Martina Hingis extended her superiority against Francesca Schiavone as she dismissed the Italian eighth seed 6-0, 7-5.

1998 Foro Italico champion Hingis, thriving in the game after a three-year retirement for injury which she broke in January, has never lost a set to London-based Schiavone.

The Swiss beat the Italian in Doha last March as well as in the quarters of the 2001 French Open.

The day was not a total disaster for the hosts as unfancied Swiss- Italian qualifier Romina Oprandi continued her improbable miracle run 6-0, 6-1 over Russian Vera Zvonareva in the third round.

Oprandi, ranked 133, handed Zvonareva the worst defeat of her career, second to a previous-worst 6-2, 6-0 loss in the 2005 German Open.

Zvonareva, twice a Rome semifinalist, needed 61 minutes to finally win a game.

Hingis shot off to a quick start against Schiavone, 11th in the world but without a career trophy.

The 25-year-old Swiss, winner of all five of her Grand Slam titles while still a teenager, spent 25 minutes in establishing superiority.

In the second set, Hingis faced more of a struggle, dropping serve in the second game but taking it back in the seventh.

Schiavone didn't help her own effort with a massive 32 unforced errors, managing to convert on only one of 13 break point chances.

Hingis broke for a 6-5 lead and polished off victory a game later on her second match point after one hour, 21 minutes.

'In the first set I played very well,' said the winner. 'I had no mistakes and put the pressure on her.

'The (long) first three games were the key to the match. I was down in them and turned things around.

'In the second, she stepped it up and we had quite a fight. I'm glad to finish in two sets, it was hot out there.'

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open winner, beat 2004 Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina 6-1, 6-4 in an all-Russian battle.