By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

Top seed Lindsay Davenport, taking a break from practice Wednesday, has won three consecutive tournaments. The Enquirer/JEFF SWINGER

MASON - Two weeks ago, the star was Andre Agassi. Now it's Lindsay Davenport.

For the second time in as many tournaments here, an American tennis great has emerged from retirement rumors to become the main attraction at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Agassi made headlines because he won the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. Davenport is the center of attention simply because she's here at the W&S Women's Open, a Tier III event that normally would not draw the WTA's top-ranked players.

But Davenport is energized to play more tennis just a month and a half after she hinted at retirement following a semifinal loss to Maria Sharapova in Wimbledon.

Since then, however, Davenport, ranked No. 4 in the world, has won three straight tournaments. During that time, she recorded victories over Venus Williams (twice), Serena Williams and French Open champion Anastasia Myskina.

"It was definitely a story that probably got blown out of proportion," Davenport said of the retirement speculation.

"The question was how many times do you think I'll be back playing at Wimbledon. I said, 'You know, I don't think I'll be back,' and that was completely honest at the time.

"I don't know. I'm 28. I started playing professionally at 15. It's been a really long and amazing career . . . I'm enjoying it. And I have enjoyed the whole year this year, but 13 years takes it toll. The answer is, I don't know when I'm going to stop. I don't know how many times I'll be back to each city."

As she enters a 7 p.m. second-round match tonight against American Lilia Osterloh, Davenport said she already plans to play in the Australian Open in January as long as she's healthy.

Since recovering from foot surgery at the end of last season, Davenport has been injury-free, with only minor lingering problems with a knee she had surgically repaired in 2002. In fact, Davenport said she feels like she is playing her best tennis since the late 1990s when she was a perennial top-three player and a fixture in the final rounds of Grand Slams.

"I don't know if she had a change of heart," NBC analyst Bud Collins said. " I wonder. She was talking about having babies and learning to cook after losing at Wimbledon.

"Maybe she was thinking, 'This'll be my last U.S. Open; I'll just go have some fun.' But since then, she's been playing maybe the best tennis of her life."

As the top seed here, Davenport earned a first-round bye.

"I've just enjoyed it a lot this year," Davenport said. "I'm not exactly sure why, but it's just been a fun year. But as of right now, (retirement) is not on my mind. I plan to keep playing as long as my body allows me to."

Building on her recent success, she is using the W&S Open to tune up for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 30. For a player who is a three-time Grand Slam champion and an Olympic champion, finding new motivation close to age 30 or beyond is an ever-changing process.

"I think the underlying force is probably to try to win another Grand Slam," Davenport said.

"It's been four years since I was able to do that. I feel like I still have the game and the tools necessary to accomplish that. That's probably what keeps me going the most."