Davenport struggles to three-set victory

By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer

CARSON, Calif. (AP) Lindsay Davenport struggled to get past Paola Suarez of Argentina 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in third round of the JPMorgan Chase Open on Thursday.

Davenport blew a 4-3 lead in the first set, double-faulting twice in a row as Suarez won the final three games. But she broke Suarez, a doubles specialist, twice to win the second set.

The third set turned into another trouble spot for Davenport, who sprayed shots all over the court in gusty conditions. She trailed 3-1 before winning five of the final six games and the match.

``It's a really strong wind going one way. Balls that are normally right in front of you are skidding,'' Davenport said. ``It's always the toughest conditions to play in the wind because the ball is moving around so much, and you can't really aim where you want to aim because you've got to pull your shots inside the court more.''

Three seeded players were eliminated. No. 11 Silvia Farina Elia lost to 18-year-old Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5; qualifier Nicole Pratt outlasted seventh-seeded Conchita Martinez 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 10 Meghann Shaughnessy lost to eighth-seeded Amanda Coetzer 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Other winners Thursday: No. 4 Ai Sugiyama, No. 6 Magdalena Maleeva and No. 16 Francesca Schiavone.

Top-seeded Kim Clijsters defeated Russian teen Maria Sharapova 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. The Belgian, who could take over the world's No. 1 ranking from injured Serena Williams this week, won 19 consecutive service points spanning the first and second sets.

Sharapova, who created a stir by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon as a wild-card entry, broke Clijsters three times in the second set and won it in 21 minutes. She had Clijsters doing splits at both ends of the baseline trying to chase down powerful shots.

But Clijsters broke Sharapova to start the third set. Sharapova staved off two break points to hold serve trailing 2-1, but Clijsters ran off eight consecutive service points to close out the match.

Earlier, some fans in the sparse pro-Davenport crowd groaned at times when she netted easy shots or slammed them well beyond the lines. An older woman scolded her, ``Come on, Lindsay. You got to want it.''

At times, Davenport didn't look like she did: Her shoulders drooped, she frowned, and she was slow in getting to balls.

Davenport, 26 and married since April, insists there's nothing else she'd rather be doing than playing tennis, something she's been at professionally for 10 years. From 1997-02, she was ranked in the top three and won titles at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open.

But that was before Serena and Venus Williams began dominating the Grand Slam finals.

``I'm used to be being a perfectionist and being really tough on myself and trying to get better and better. It seems like it just wears on me sometimes,'' Davenport said. ``Mentally, I have to force myself to keep staying eager, staying aggressive and staying positive.''

And forget about regaining the No. 1 ranking, even though the Williams sisters are both injured.

``That would be difficult,'' Davenport said. ``Just physically what it takes on your body week in and week out, I don't know if I'm capable of that. The girls that are playing right now are younger and more eager.''

Already Davenport has said she might not play beyond this year. If she does, she said she'll play less than her usual 18-to-24 tournaments.

``I'm concentrating more on certain tournaments,'' she said. ``If I play next year, I don't think I'll play a full schedule and just go for trying to peak at Grand Slams.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)