BRIEFLY : HINGIS OUTLASTS WILLIAMS.

Venus Williams collapsed in an easy chair, ran a hand through the beads in her braided hair and smiled like the carefree teen-ager she is - even after losing to the hottest player in tennis.

Although Martina Hingis rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a battle of 16-year-olds for a 6-4, 6-2 third-round win at the Lipton Championships, Williams refused to dwell on the loss.

``I'm over it right now,'' she said 15 minutes after the final point. ``I have to let go. I have said goodbye to the match.''

But there's little doubt she'll meet Hingis again.

``For sure she is going to be a good player,'' said Hingis, 22-0 this year and, regardless how she finishes in the tournament, will be the youngest No. 1 player ever when the new rankings are released March 31. She will supplant Steffi Graf, who has been No. 1 a record 374 weeks.

An intriguing final could be looming Saturday between Hingis and Monica Seles, playing her first tournament this year. Seles advanced to the fourth round by beating Amy Frazier 6-3, 6-3.

In men's third-round play, Michael Chang's match-winning streak came to an end at 11 when he lost to Sergi Bruguera of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

ALSO: The ATP Tour, seeking to make tennis more popular in Latin America, announced a series of eight tournaments there for younger pros.

The events will receive live television coverage and award a total of about $1 million in prize money.

The series, part of the ATP Tour Challenger schedule, will be called Copa Ericsson. It begins Sept. 22 at Sao Paulo, Brazil, and concludes Dec. 2 at Porto Alegre, Brazil.