The second-ranked Lindsay Davenport beat world number one Martina Hingis 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, at Manhattan Beach, California, yesterday to win her 12th consecutive match and third WTA tournament in a row.

Davenport won $80,000 and pulled to within 444 points of the Swiss teen sensation in the computer rankings by taking a third tournament in as many weeks in her home state after wins in Stanford and San Diego.

"I wish I knew (how) because I would always do that," Davenport said. "I was excited to get on the hardcourts and in California. I was trying to get ready for this."

Her main goal is the US Open, which begins in two weeks in New York. Hingis is the defending champion there and still the woman to beat, although Davenport, 22, has proven she can beat Hingis, even at her best.