``I think everyone was expecting an all-Williams final,'' said the second seeded Davenport, the 1998 U.S. Open champion. ''Martina and I had a little talk -- we didn't want it to happen.''
This was not the first talk that Davenport has had with Hingis on the subject of the Williams sisters.
``She's (Hingis) fun to talk to,'' Davenport said after her quarterfinal victory. ``You know, Venus doesn't talk to me much. Serena, I don't see all that much. I mean she's a bit more friendly, maybe.
Last year, as Davenport was poised to play Serena in the U.S. Open semifinals, and Hingis was slated to meet Venus, the two had a similar conversation.
Although Hingis came through to the final in 1999, Davenport failed to live up to her end of the bargain.
The victory against Serena enables Davenport, who spent much of this season injured, believing she is back to the form that won her three Grand Slam trophies and the world number one ranking for a total of 28 weeks.
Davenport turned the tables on Serena this year, spoiling Serena's opportunity to defend her U.S Open title by scoring only her second win in the seven matches they have played.
Serena was not at all taken aback that Davenport and Hingis were scheming in hopes of keeping a final between the siblings from happening.
``That's the way a lot of people would want it,'' Serena said, noticeably not in a good mood. ``I'm sure a lot of people never want to see and all-Williams final. It's going to happen in the future, inevitably. Nobody's going to be able to stop it.
``Obviously, no one would want to see an all-Williams final because everyone doesn't really like us. That's just the way it is.
``Not everyone likes you. Not everyone likes Michael Jordan. It's just a part of life.''
The opportunity for a Williams to take home the U.S. Open trophy now falls to reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who plays Hingis in the semifinals.
``Unfortunately, I didn't pull my end up this year,'' Serena said. ``I'm sure in the next Grand Slam, the Australian Open, Wimbledon or the French, I'm going to do my utmost to make sure it happens.''
Davenport laughed when asked if she alway has a gambling spirit, being careful to make note that Hingis and she had no money on their friendly bet.
Davenport, however, did attempt a small bet with the umpire during the quarter-final.
Positive that umpire Dessie Samuels made a wrong call in the second set, Davenport made her a tempting offer.
``The ball was so far out,'' Davenport said. ``She was telling me it was in. The changeover, I said, 'I'll give you a thousand dollars if you go down there, look at the mark and tell me that's in, because there was no way that ball was in.''