Williams and Hingis advance in du Maurier Open

As the thundering serves and groundstrokes flew past a helpless Amy Frazier, Serena Williams knew she was "in a zone."

As the thundering serves and groundstrokes flew past a helpless Amy Frazier, Serena Williams knew she was "in a zone."

"Remember this date because I'll probably never say this again - I'm satisfied with how I played," Williams said after her 6-0, 6-1 quarterfinal victory over the 16th-seeded Frazier in the du Maurier Open in Montreal on Friday.

"I didn't make many errors. I didn't hit too hard, too crazy. Whatever she did, I was ready for it. It all came together today."

Williams could recall only twice before being as sharp - for one set of a match against sister Venus in Munich, Germany, last year and again in Miami against what she called "some player."

This match was even easier than her two-set third-round win over Anna Kournikova on Thursday, which she had described as "slightly close." And it seems that when Williams is hot, there's little her opponent can do.

"If I didn't hit a perfect shot, she'd hit a winner," said Frazier, who nonetheless was hesitant, as many at du Maurier Stadium have, to concede the tournament to Williams.

"All the top players are powerful, quick and strong," Frazier said.

Top players are all that's left in the $1.08 million event.

In the semifinals, Williams will play No. 7 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, and top-seeded Martina Hingis will face No. 3 Conchita Martinez.

Hingis survived a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 battle with No. 8 Sandrine Testud, Martinez beat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-4, and Sanchez Vicario defeated Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva 6-1, 6-4.

Hingis is 11-0 against Testud, including a trio of three-set wins in the du Maurier.

"I've always had that little edge over her," Hingis said. "The physique was also a factor in the third set, because she came out strong in the first set but then the match slowed down."

Hingis has an 8-3 record against Martinez, but lost in their last meeting at this year's German Open.

Martinez crept almost unnoticed into the semifinals.

She had a first-round bye, got past Anne Miller in three sets in the second round and won a third-round walkover Thursday when Julie Halard-Decugis withdrew with a lower back injury.

"A dream? No," said Martinez, 28, who has climbed back to sixth in world rankings after two weak seasons. "It's pretty real.

"It was weird not playing in the third round because Julie got injured, but I'm playing good tennis. I thought I played a good match."

For the second straight day, Williams delighted the crowd by doing her postmatch on-court interviews in French.

When reporters asked about the warm reception her remarks received, she said: "I don't think anyone expected me to speak French," she said. "I'm American. No American has ever learned another language."

Her victory extended the Williams family streak to 28 consecutive wins against all opponents except one another. Between them, Serena and Venus have won four straight tournaments, beginning with Wimbledon. Venus sat out the du Maurier.

Results from the $1.08 million Omnium du Maurier Sanex WTA Tour hard-court tournament:

Singles - Quarterfinals

Conchita Martinez (3), Spain, def. Anne Kremer, Luxembourg, 6-2, 6-4. Martina Hingis (1), Switzerland, def. Sandrine Testud (8), France, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Serena Williams (4), United States, def. Amy Frazier (16), United States, 6-0, 6-1. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (7), Spain, def. Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria, 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles - Quarterfinals

Julie Halard-Decugis, France, and Ai Sugiyama (1), Japan, def. Lindsay Davenport, United States, and Anna Kournikova (5), Russia, walkover. Chanda Rubin, United States, and Sandrine Testud (3), France, def. Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Elena Likhovtseva (8), Russia, 6-4, 6-2. Kimberly Po, United States, and Anne-Gaelle Sidot, France, def. Amanda Coetzer, South Africa, and Lori McNeil, United States, 6-4, 7-6 (4).