Women’s tennis: Davenport slowed by ankle injury

Lindsay Davenport, the No. 1 women’s tennis player in the world,

who calls Newport Beach’s Palisades Tennis Center home, has compiled a

24-2 record in 2000. She has, however, lost the last two Women’s Tennis

Association tournaments to a sprained left ankle.

The injury, sustained in a March 31 semifinal win at the Ericsson Open in

Florida, will need to recover fully to handle the rigors of the clay

surfaces the next five WTA tournaments are played on, culminating at the

French Open, May 29-June 11.

The injury, which caused her to drop out of the Bausch & Lomb

Championships, April 10-16, as well as the ongoing Family Circle Cup

which concludes Sunday in Hilton Head, S.C., undoubtedly affected her

play in the April 2 Ericsson Open final, a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Martina

Hingis.

With that win, Hingis, whom Davenport displaced atop the WTA rankings

after a 136-week reign, ended a five-match losing streak to Davenport.

Davenport’s success against Hingis is reflective of the consistent

excellence which has lifted her to the No. 1 ranking. She has reached the

final in each of the last six events she’s played, dating back to

November.

Included in that run was a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Hingis in the Australian

Open final, Jan. 30. That triumph produced Davenport’s third Grand Slam

title. She won Wimbledon in 1999 and the U.S. Open in ’98.

Hingis, only 56 points behind Davenport’s 6,100 in the most recent

rankings, released April 3, chose not to defend her Family Circle Cup

title.

Davenport should benefit from a break in the WTA tour for the first round

of Fed Cup, Monday through April 30, at sites throughout the world.

The United States, which Davenport helped win the 1999 Fed Cup with a

title-match-clinching singles win over Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva in

September, has a first-round Fed Cup bye as the reigning champion.

The U.S. has earned an automatic berth in the Fed Cup semifinals, which

it will host in November.

The next WTA tournament Davenport could compete in would be the Betty

BarClay Cup, May 1-7, in Hamburg Germany. From there, the tour proceeds

to the German Open, May 8-14, in Berlin.