Ai Sugiyama had royalty in her corner at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Friday. Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko showed up at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium just before the start of her quarterfinal match. Only one problem: The queen of women's tennis awaited Sugiyama on the other side of the net.
Sugiyama gave it the old college try, but she was simply outclassed by Martina Hingis, the world's top-ranked player. Hingis, gunning for her third consecutive Toray crown, reached the semifinals with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory.
The prince and princess didn't stick around to watch the other Japanese in the quarters. However, Shinobu Asagoe could have used the support. She was swept off the court by Magdalena Maleeva 6-1, 7-6 (7-1). The Bulgarian will face the top-seeded Hingis in today's semifinals.