Davenport bests Venus in Final
Canadian Press
7/18/2004
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Lindsay Davenport claims her competitive fire is less intense after 14 years on tour.
Anyone watching her stirring three-set victory over Venus Williams at the Bank of the West Classic would find it difficult to believe her.
Davenport held off Williams 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (4) Sunday to win her third title at the event, snapping a six-match losing streak to Williams in the longtime rivals' 23rd meeting - and quite possibly their best.
After countless thrilling points in a match stretching nearly three hours, Davenport thrust her arms into the air in relief when Williams' final backhand went wide.
Davenport is leaning toward retirement after the season, saying she doesn't get the same charge out of victories or the same motivation from losses. No matter what she decides, the former No. 1 wants to head into the U.S. Open in top form - and this match was a good place to start.
``If this does anything, it motivates me and excites me to keep going,'' Davenport said. ``I'm not basing what I'm going to decide to do at the end of the year on my results, but it gives me a lot of motivation for the next few weeks.
``Every set, it was so close. A few points here or there. I've been on the flip side of losing a lot of those.''
Davenport, the second seed, has won three of her four finals meetings with Williams at the Stanford tournament, including previous victories in 1998 and 1999. It was Davenport's 41st WTA singles title and her third this year, after Tokyo's Pan Pacific and Amelia Island.
Williams, the top seed, fell just a few key points short of her third title of the season, making crucial unforced errors on a handful of shots. Williams still has a 12-11 lead in her career over Davenport - but if Davenport retires after the season, the match was an appropriate finale.
``I know today wasn't my best match, and I lost 7-6 in the third,'' Williams said. ``If I would have played a decent match, I would have won.''
How close was it? Williams won 142 total points to Davenport's 141 in a match that lasted two hours 55 minutes.
``I've been in a lot of matches with her in the last few years where it hasn't been close,'' Davenport said. ``My goal was to keep the sets close and see what could happen.''
Davenport claimed the $97,000 US winner's share of the $585,000 purse - but more importantly, she proved she still can beat the game's premiere players under difficult conditions.
Williams, a two-time champion of the event, consistently outserved Davenport, cracking 120 miles per hour even in the third set under stifling heat at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
But Williams' problematic forehand deserted her at several key moments - particularly in the final points of both tiebreakers - leading to 73 unforced errors to Davenport's 35.
After the match, Williams' frustration was just as strong as Davenport's relief.
``They're close to the lines,'' Williams said. ``I'm expecting those to fall in pretty soon. I just want to hit them long and keep hitting them long. I'm OK with that as long as they're not going in the net - as long as when I get to the Olympics and the U.S. Open, they're going in.''
Davenport took a medical timeout early in the first set when she aggravated her sprained left wrist, but it didn't stop the right-hander from staying in constant motion against Williams' powerful game. Davenport saved four set points before forcing the first tiebreak, where she won three straight points to take the set.
Williams broke Davenport late in the second set to go up 6-5 before serving out. Davenport came back strong, posting an early third-set break before Williams evened it again.
``I was definitely getting tired,'' Davenport said. ``At the end of the second set, I just about ran out of gas. You get another wind, and you never know what's going to happen."
In the final tiebreak, Williams hit consecutive forehands into the net to give Davenport three set points. After saving one, Williams missed on her final backhand, prompting the sun-baked sellout crowd to provide the last of several standing ovations for both players.
``When I finally got a match point,'' Davenport said, ``I felt like I had earned one.''
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