Hingis gets her wish

Maria Sharapova bombed through her draw here, surviving two tough sets against Shahar Peer and Anna-Lena Groenefeld, but now she has to face Martina Hingis again, who spun around Safina.

It's a big match for both players: Sharapova, because she has to show once again that her Tokyo loss to the Swiss was a fluke and, to Hingis, who wants to prove that she was too tired in Dubai to put up a good fight against Maria. The Indian Wells court is playing fairly slow and it's impossible not to think back to the double bagel that Davenport hung on Maria last year here (even if Sharapova is pleading to the press, "C'mon guys, ask me about something else."). If it's windy on Friday, it will be hard for Sharapova to keep her ponytail on straight.

The key for Sharapova against Hingis is pretty simple: Keep her moving behind the baseline, waste her second serve and make sure not to overplay balls that Hingis has hit deep. It's imperative for Sharapova to munch the mid-court ball, but Hingis anticipates way to well to blown out when her foe is two feet behind the baseline.

Unless Sharapova is way off, Hingis has to attack a fair amount to win, and make sure she is drawing her wide as well up and back. Sharapova is more coordinated than she was last year and is a better defensive player than she was, but she can be taken out of her rhythm. That's why despite her consistent play, she hasn't won a crown since June. She has to trust her defense to win the match.

"I think a lot of that has to do with movement, feeling physically feeling good out on the court." Sharapova said. "It's a combination of a little bit of experience and hard work on the physical side of it. I think also my racket is helping me a lot in those situations, in the defense situations where, I might not be able to hit the ball as hard or as deep as I want to."

It's crucial for her not get caught up in Hingis' aura, as the Swiss is one of the few player capable of taking the attention away from SI's favorite swimsuit model athlete.

"You're playing a great champion, someone that's obviously achieved a lot in her career," Sharapova said. "And she's still young. Any opponent that I see across the net, I cannot think about whether they're terrible or they're great. I can't put that in my mind. I have to know that every opponent's going to play their best match against me, and that's what you have to expect, even from her or anyone that's 100 in the world."