SAN DIEGO, California Monica Seles ousted world number one Martina Hingis in straight sets Saturday to set up a showdown with defending champion Venus Williams at the 565,000-dollar WTA tour San Diego tournament.

Seles, the seventh seed, registered 31 winners in 68 minutes as she powered past world number one Martina Hingis on Saturday 6-3, 6-4. The win snapped Seles' seven-match losing streak against the Swiss top seed.

"It's excellent, and to come back from a match like yesterday and play as well as I did today and to keep the level high the entire match was satisfactory," said Seles, who ousted world number two Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals. "I can't say I didn't expect it. I expect a lot out of myself. Each time I play a tournament, I expect to win it. But playing these last three matches has been really good, so soon after not playing for a long time."

Williams, seeded second, beat fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport 6-2, 7-5 to reach the final.

Williams got off to a fast start, taking advantage of Davenport's erratic serve.

Williams' game dropped off considerably in the second, giving Davenport hope of a three-setter. Davenport erased two match points, but Williams, eager to move into her second consecutive San Diego final, finally closed out the match on the third match point with a solid backhand cross-court shot.

"I think my technique dropped toward the end," Williams said. "I took my eye off the ball and my feet moved less."

The former world number one is competing in just her third event since march after being sidelined by a foot injury. She played her vintage game, deep penetrating groundstrokes to keep Hingis off-balance.

"I'm feeling really good about my movement, getting back a lot of balls that I wouldn't have gotten back and that makes a big difference," Seles said. "With my game, using both hands on both sides, I have a hard time reaching a lot of balls, so I have to be in good shape. I'm in the beginning stages and hopefully I can make more improvements that will help my game."

Hingis, who won this title in 1997 and 1999, fell in the semifinals of her first event since being embarrassed in straight sets in the first round of Wimbledon by Virginia Ruano Pascual.

The Swiss player has won three tournaments this year but none since February. She took the Adidas international, Qatar Open and Dubai Open and reached the final of her first five wta tour events of 2001, AFP reported.

Both Seles and Hingis had trouble holding serve throughout the match. Seles broke in the fourth game of the first set and then served it out. She then began the second with a break, but Hingis broke back in the sixth game when seles double-faulted on game point.

Hingis, however couldn't hold the break, losing her serve the very next game with a double-fault on game point.

Seles eventually won the match when Hingis sprayed another backhand wide.

"She was always attacking," Hingis said. "I think I had a couple of good matches, but I had to get used to playing these matches, singles and doubles. Sometimes you go out here and you are a little flat and you know that already. And then you have to play Monica and she is playing great right now. In the past, I might be able to get away with that, but not against her, the way she is playing."

Seles will have another chance at revenge on Sunday. She lost the title match here for the third time last year to Williams.