INDIAN WELLS, California (Ticker) -- Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Justine Henin of Belgium eased into the fourth round of the $5.05 million Pacific Life Open on Sunday, but Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia again stumbled in the third round.
Hingis, the second seed, cruised past No. 27 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, 6-3, 6-3, in their third-round match at the hardcourt event.
No. 3 Henin coasted to a 6-3, 6-0 rout of Italy's Adriana Serra Zanetti, the 30th seed.
Meanwhile, No. 26 Anne Kremer of Luxembourg posted her second win over the year over the fifth-seeded Dokic, 6-3, 6-0.
The 1998 champion, Hingis is gunning for her third WTA title of the year. The former world No. 1 triumphed in January at Sydney and last month at Tokyo, where the 21-year-old lifted her 40th career trophy.
In perhaps the match of the year, Hingis was unable to convert four championship points on January 26 as Jennifer Capriati of the United States rallied to defend her Australian Open crown.
In the fourth round, Hingis will meet Zimbabwe's Cara Black, who had a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback win over Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, the 14th seed.
Henin, 19, still is looking for her first title in 2002. A four-time winner on the WTA Tour, Henin lost to current world No.1 Venus Williams in the finals of the Gold Coast and Antwerp events.
Henin's next opponent is Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, the 18th seed who rallied to beat No. 16 Barbara Schett of Austria, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Kremer also knocked off Dokic in the round of 16 at Tokyo and has won two of their three career meetings. The 18-year-old Dokic also fell in the round of 32 in her only previous appearance at Indian Wells in 2000.
Luxembourg's top player takes on 12th seed Lisa Raymond of the United States in the last 16. Raymond overwhelmed No. 24 Tatiana Panova of Russia, 6-2, 6-1.
No.7 Silvia Farina Elia of Italy defeated Lilia Osterloh of the United States, 6-4, 6-3, while another American, No. 25 Alexandra Stevenson, recovered from a disappointing second set to beat Elena Dementieva of Russia, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
Farina Elia will go up against No. 9 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. The Spanish veteran got past Czech Daja Bedanova, 6-4, 6-4.
Stevenson also faces a tough fourth-round opponent in 10th seed Amanda Coetzer. A finalist at Indian Wells in 1993 and 1994, Coetzer rallied past Marta Marrero of Spain, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
No. 22 Ai Sugiyama of Japan rolled over No. 13 Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan, 6-2, 6-3, and is rewarded with a fourth-round encounter against fourth-seeded American Monica Seles.
France's Nathalie Dechy, who eliminated top seed Kim Clijsters in the opening round, lost in the third round to No. 28 Anastasia Myskina of Russia, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
Myskina's next opponent is Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi, who hammered Slovakia's Janette Husarova, 6-2, 6-0.
Anna Smashnova of Israel rallied past Eva Dyrberg of Denmark, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 25-year-old will take on No. 6 Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States.
This is the seventh-richest tournament on the WTA Tour after the four Grand Slams, the year-end Sanex Championships and Miami. The Indian Wells event also features a men's draw, which starts on Monday.
