AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- Unable to hide her frustration, Martina Hingis bounced her racket off the spongy, green clay. She rolled her eyes. She slammed a ball into the ground, popping it onto the other side of the court.
For the first time in five years, the world's top player felt what it's like to be on the wrong side of an Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario hot streak.
The seventh-seeded clay-court specialist pulled a stunner Friday, defeating top-seeded Hingis 6-2, 6-4 at the Bausch & Lomb Championships for just her second victory in 17 tries against Hingis.
"As I say, every match is different," Sanchez-Vicario said. "I try not to put it in my mind at all. I was just trying to think about today's match, be focused and do the right thing. Obviously, you have to play really well to beat her."
A winner at the Porto Ladies Open last week in Portugal, Sanchez-Vicario advanced to the semifinals to play sixth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo on Saturday. Sanchez-Vicario is seeking her first title at Amelia since 1994.
Fourth-seeded Amanda Coetzer defeated 10th-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 6-3 to earn a spot in the other semifinal. It was Shaughnessy's 22nd birthday. On Thursday, Coetzer eliminated Jelena Dokic on her 18th birthday.
"I'm not sorry about it," Coetzer said. "I guess it's unfortunate for them. It's not nice to lose on your birthday. It's happened to me before."
The final semifinal slot will go to the winner of a late match between two unseeded players, Nadia Petrova and Silvia Farina Elia.
Sanchez-Vicario, a three-time French Open champion, called this one of her most rewarding victories, mostly because she turned the tables on a player who has dominated her for years. Her only other victory over Hingis came in 1996, also on clay, at Hilton Head, S.C.
"Obviously, she's normally the one who controls the whole situation," Sanchez-Vicario said. "Maybe she didn't like that I was the one winning points, and mixing it up, and making her go on the run."
Her consistency forced Hingis into looking for shortcuts -- like a handful of missed drop shots -- and forced an early exit for the 20-year-old champion making her first appearance at this tournament.
Hingis was playing her first tournament in nearly two years without her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor, at courtside. As much as that, Hingis said her hectic schedule and the court case involving the man convicted of stalking her might have taken their toll.
On Thursday, Dubravko Rajcevic was sentenced to two years in jail for stalking Hingis -- thus ending a case that forced Hingis into the courtroom to testify earlier this month in Miami.
"I think it's just the little things -- a lot of things have happened in the last few weeks," Hingis said. "The trial was going on. I've been playing a lot, trying to practice. Today, the day after the trial ended, I knew everything was over. It was probably too much. I'll try to regenerate."
After Hingis netted a forehand to end the match, she slapped her racket on the net in frustration, while Sanchez-Vicario pumped her fists and gestured to a crowd that has grown to adore her in her 12 appearances at Amelia.
"I felt I had so many chances, but I just couldn't make it," Hingis said. "It seemed strange on the court. I was so confident in a way, even though I lost the first set. Somehow, point by point, I felt it slipping away. It was weird."
Sanchez-Vicario now might be considered the favorite, especially considering the rash of upsets and injuries that have abounded.
Third-seeded Elena Dementieva pulled out Friday, unable to play her quarterfinal against Mauresmo after tearing a tendon on the bottom of her foot in a third-round victory.
Before the tournament began, Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova pulled out with foot injuries. On Monday, Mary Pierce tweaked her back throwing a medicine ball, and she had to withdraw. Second-seeded Conchita Martinez lost her first match, leaving very few well-known names outside of Hingis and Sanchez-Vicario.
Coetzer is the highest seed remaining in the tournament, and the only player ranked in the world's top 10.
