Friday, September 06, 2002
Davenport, Mauresmo stand in way of all-Williams final
By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK — All that stands in the way of another all-Williams final at the U.S. Open are Lindsay Davenport, who is making a remarkable recovery from knee surgery, and Amelie Mauresmo, who has made it this far in a Grand Slam tournament just twice before.
Sisters Venus and Serena Williams are one step away from their fourth championship meeting in the last five majors. On Friday, Davenport and Mauresmo each will get a chance to ruin those plans in the semifinals. And their prospects are not great.
AT A GLANCE
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Weather: Sunny and beautiful. High of 80.
Attendance: Day session — 18,042.
Men's quarterfinals — No.17 Pete Sampras def. No.11 Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; No.24 Sjeng Schalken def. No.28 Fernando Gonzalez 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2).
Women's semifinals — Today: No.1 Serena Williams vs. No.4 Lindsay Davenport; No.2 Venus Williams vs. No.10 Amelie Mauresmo.
Stat of the day: Amelie Mauresmo is the first Frenchwoman to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Open in the Open era (1968-present).
Quote of the day: “Sometimes he was hitting winners, then all of a sudden he hits one ball in the stands, and then he hits three winners again. That was very, very tough tactically today.” - Sjeng Schalken, on his opponent, Fernando Gonzalez.
Today's TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 12, 7.
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Davenport, who plays Serena, has lost seven of their nine previous meetings, including two at the U.S. Open. Mauresmo has lost all four of her matches against Venus.
When the sisters reached the U.S. Open final a year ago, it was the first time since 1884 that siblings had played for a Grand Slam championship. Venus won her second straight Open that night, and since then there have been two more sister showdowns, with Serena winning the French Open and Wimbledon.
Both sisters have put on a high-power display at the U.S. Open. Through five matches, Venus has regularly served at over 120 mph, and Serena has lost just 14 games. The only speed bump came when Venus dropped a set to Chanda Rubin, a temporary interruption in the sisters' dominance of this tournament.
Davenport is playing in her first Grand Slam of the year following surgery on her right knee in January. She did not get back to the courts until the Fed Cup in July and had limited preparation for this demanding tournament.
She's amazed that she's gotten this far at the Open after a difficult rehabilitation that had her on crutches for several weeks.
“I really could have never said this would happen, especially after January and February,” she said. “It was just impossible, in my mind. It's an amazing feeling. I really think this is one of my better achievements, just to be able to come back from everything this year and get to the semis of a Slam.
“I can't even describe it. For some reason here, I've started to reflect on things I've gone through and I don't know why. I mean, I just wanted to play here so badly and do well. I'm so happy that I was able to do it so far.”
Davenport reached the finals of warm-up tournaments at Los Angeles and New Haven, losing to Rubin and Venus. She also lost to Venus in the semifinals in San Diego. She's looking forward to playing Serena this time, but she understands the challenge the Williams sisters present for the rest of the field.
“They are definitely at a level above everyone else,” Davenport said. “Certainly, it's a huge challenge. If I lose, I could walk away with that. I really don't want to. I'm just going to go out there and play.”
Serena knows she has dominated Davenport. She remembers best, however, losing to her at this tournament in 2000.
“It haunts me still,” Serena said. “I was the defending champion that year. Lindsay played very, very well that night. There was nothing I could do to beat her.”
They met again at the Open last year, with Serena winning a difficult three-setter. “I remember I had match point,” Serena said. “She goes and hits this ball on the line. It was for a winner.”
Serena enjoys facing Davenport. “We play the same style of game,” she said. “I actually like playing Lindsay. I can't wait. Win, lose or draw, I'm going to have fun.”
Mauresmo reached the final of the 1999 Australian Open, and lost to Serena in the semifinals at Wimbledon this summer. She thinks it would be a good thing for tennis to stop the Williams juggernaut.
“People are maybe going to get bored of seeing always the same final,” she said. “To me, it gets a little irritating because you want to go out there and beat those guys.”
Venus zoomed into the semis by quickly eliminating former champion Monica Seles. There was no indication that she sees Mauresmo as a problem.
“I'm really not sure what her career will be,” Venus said. “I know what mine can be, and that's more or less what I focus on.”
The sisters are also what their father, Richard, focuses on as he prowls around center court. He schmoozes with fans and takes pictures of his daughters, seemingly unconcerned about whether they'll win. Only because that has become so routine.
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Davenport, Mauresmo stand in way of all-Williams final
