Milestones in sight for Hingis and Clijsters

Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters advanced to the semi-finals of the Adidas International here yesterday, and moved closer to reaching personal landmarks in the process.

Hingis, the second seed, defeated the seventh seed, Sandrine Testud of France, 6-4, 6-2, while Clijsters, the third seed, saw off her compatriot and the fifth seed Justine Henin 7-6, 6-2. Last night's scheduled semi-final would see Hingis seeking her 500th professional singles victory, while Clijsters has 199 wins.

Hingis, who next week will be chasing her first grand slam title since winning the 1999 Australian Open, said she was delighted by her progress. She dropped an early service game in the first set but held her remaining games after switching from a high-kicking serve to a slicing serve.

"I played smart and didn't make many errors and that was the key to the game," she said. "I am happy with the way I am playing."

The eighth seed Meghann Shaughnessy moved into the semi-finals by beating her fellow American Alexandra Stevenson 6-4, 6-1. Stevenson had knocked out Jennifer Capriati on Wednesday.

* Juan Carlos Ferrero, the No 5 seed at the Australian Open, has been forced to pull out with a knee injury. Spaniard Tommy Robredo becomes the No 32 seed, while the other seeds below No 5, including Tim Henman, all move up a place.