Publication Date: Friday, July 09, 2004
WOMEN'S TENNIS
It may be her last shot
It may be her last shot
(July 09, 2004) Davenport heads into Bank of the West with retirement calling
by Rick Eymer
Lindsay Davenport has made it clear she plans to retire at the end of the year. While those plans aren't etched in stone, that means this could be her last appearance at the Bank of the West tournament, which opens Monday at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center.
The WTA Tier II tournament, which features six of the top 25 players in the world, begins with final qualifying matches and first-round matches at 10 a.m.
The Bank of the West continues through the following Sunday, with two daily sessions leading to the championship match on July 18 at 1 p.m.
"We are expecting a great week of tennis and with these top players entered in the tournament, there is no saying who will become this year's champion," said Tournament Director Gus Sampras.
Davenport, a two-time Bank of the West champion, is a crowd favorite at Stanford. Currently ranked fifth in the world, she's the highest-ranked player in the tournament and favored to win her first title here since 1999.
Going out with another tournament title at Stanford would seem appropriate for the 28-year-old former No. 1 player. Before deciding to turn pro, she considered attending Stanford.
Davenport's main contender for the title still appears to be Venus Williams, despite her second-round loss at Wimbledon. Williams, another crowd favorite, dropped to No. 15 in the most recent world rankings from No. 8.
Williams and Davenport share a lot in common. Like Davenport, Williams is a two-time champion at Bank of the West, and like Davenport, Williams is a former No. 1 player.
Williams and Davenport have combined for 69 WTA Tour titles. The 17 other announced players have combined for 51 titles. Both will be playing for the first time since Wimbledon.
The remaining seven spots in the tournament will be determined with three wild- card selections to be announced at today's draw ceremony, and four qualifiers to come from the qualifying tournament, which is held all day Saturday and Sunday and is free to the public.
Without defending champion Kim Clijsters, and No. 7 Jennifer Capriati this year, the stage is set for another dramatic confrontation between the two Americans.
Davenport, who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon before falling to women's tennis newest sensation Maria Sharapova in three sets, seems to be playing the better tennis. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and has won two tournaments. She's 11-2 on hardcourt this season.
Davenport also owns a victory over No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, and two of her six overall losses have been to top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne.
After losing to Sharapova in England, Davenport said she was losing her interest in competition.
"I just don't feel the same kind of excitement sometimes before matches," Davenport told The Associated Press. "The wins don't get me as excited anymore and, on the flip side, the losses don't hurt as much. At a certain point you kind of lose the excitement and the drive, and I feel that has been a little bit missing the past few months."
Davenport will be looking to go out in a blaze of glory, while Williams will be looking to reestablish her dominance.
"The last thing I want is some sort of farewell tour," Davenport told the Chronicle. "I don't think I'll get caught up in the sentiment."
Williams has won two tournament titles this year, and is 5-2 on hardcourt, 19-5 overall. She reached the third round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Her stunning loss to Karolina Sprem in straight sets, both of which went to tiebreakers, may have been a wake-up call.
Williams made her professional debut at the Bank of the West Classic in 1994, when the event was held in Oakland. She lost to then No. 2-ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario after winning the first set.
The Bank of the West is intriguing this year since there doesn't seem to be a dominant player in the game right now, and it's become even more of a worldly sport. Only two Americans - Davenport and Capriati - are ranked among the top 13.
The game has gone international in a big way, and that's reflected in the field at Stanford next week. Of the 17 committed players, only four are Americans. In addition to Davenport and Williams, Amy Frazier is ranked No. 25 and Meghann Shaughnessy is ranked No. 29.
Also entered are Switzerland's Patty Schnyder ay No. 16, Italy's Francesca Schiavone at No. 17, Israel's Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi at No. 18, Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi at No. 33, Greece's Eleni Daniilidou at No. 34, Croatia's Jelena Kostanic at No. 38, Australia's Nicole Pratt at No. 41, Hungary's Petra Mandula at No. 47, Serbia and Montenegro's Jelena Jankovic at No. 49, Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn at No. 51, Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova at No. 56, Germany's Ancxa Barna at No. 59 and Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja at No. 63.
Former Stanford players Laura Granville, Teryn Ashley and Marissa Irvin are all ranked among the top 100 and could appear in the Classic. Stanford junior Amber Liu, the two-time defending NCAA singles champion, played in the tournament last year.
Daniilidoiu is the best player ever produced by Greece, the hosting country for the Olympic Games this summer. She reached a career-best No. 14 last year and owns a win over Capriati. She reached the semifinals of the NASDAQ 100 Open this year, defeating Sprem before losing to Serena Williams. She's lost her first match in four of the past five tournaments however.
Schnyder beat Davenport on clay at the Family Circle Cup, where she reached the semifinals. She's also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open (losing to Clijsters) and DFS Classic (losing to Sharapova in three sets).
Schiavone reached the fourth round of the French Open before losing to Capriati, while Smashova-Pistolesi is coming off a tournament title at the Wien Energie Grand Prix, beating Frazier in the semifinals.
Frazier is 12-4 on hardcourt this year, and lost to Sharapova in the fourth round at Wimbledon in her last match.
The Bank of the West Classic is the longest running women's only tournament in the world, entering its 34th year, the eighth at Stanford.
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