| | Associated Press
Results
PARIS -- Lindsay Davenport, wincing from pain and moving
stiffly from back spasms, was eliminated at the French Open on Wednesday with a first-round loss to a grieving Dominique Van Roost.
|
 |
|
|
Wednesday, May 31
Lindsay Davenport clearly has some problems with her back, which seemed to be really affecting her. We knew Dominique Van Roost would be a tough first-round matchup for Davenport. Because Van Roost hits the ball hard and flat, Davenport struggled to dictate the points as she usually does.
At this point, Davenport should pull out of the doubles competition without playing another match at the French Open. In just four weeks, she'll be on the green grass of Wimbledon defending her title. Sliding around on the clay courts of Roland Garros won't help her back, and instead, Davenport should return home to Newport Beach, Calif., where she should focus on resting and rehabilitating her back.
The grass at Wimbledon will be a tough test for Davenport. On grass, the ball stays lower, putting more stress on the 6-foot-2 Davenport's back. And the grass does cause some occasionally inconsistent bounces, which means she has to make sudden movements to adjust.
Davenport's loss changes the face of the lower half of the women's bracket in Paris. The favorites in the lower bracket become Conchita Martinez, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Amanda Coetzer and Venus Williams. Venus, however, has never performed well on clay, and will get a better measuring stick in the next round against Tamarine Tanasugarn.
Davenport's absence most impacts ninth-seeded Coetzer, who would have faced Davenport in the round of 16. Coetzer still has a tough second-round match against Gala Leon Garcia, a good Spanish clay-court player, but a win here might mean a trip to the quarterfinals.
Martinez, who could have been Davenport's quarterfinal opponent, is another immediate benefactor. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, given her record at the French Open, also has to like the fact that Davenport, a potential semifinal foe,
Another player taking some notes is Martina Hingis. Although Hingis is in the top half of the bracket and wouldn't have played Davenport until the finals, she no longer has to worry about her worst nightmare in women's tennis for the last year and a half. Early signs keep pointing toward Hingis winning the title. |
|
|
Van Roost, mourning the death of her mother, outlasted the
second-seeded Davenport 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
The match was Davenport's first since a back injury forced her
to withdraw from a tournament at Rome two weeks ago. In the final
set, she served erratically and pulled up awkwardly after many
shots.
"Unfortunately it was just a week too soon, I think,"
Davenport said. "I was feeling pretty good until the last game of
the second set."
The loss came in the only Grand Slam she hasn't won. But
Davenport accepted the disappointment with a shrug and a smile,
while Van Roost cried as she discussed the victory on her 27th
birthday.
"Normally I cry when I lose," she said, dabbing at tears with
a tissue. "This is a little bit special for me. I knew it was
going to be tough for me to be here today."
The Belgian, a former top 10 player, is competing in only her
second tournament since the death of her mother March 26.
"It has been pretty difficult the last few weeks," Van Roost
said. "It's a good comeback, I think."
In other women's action, fourth-seeded Venus Williams lost only two points in the first
five games and beat Jana Kandarr 6-0, 6-3, while No. 14 Anna Kournikova
eliminated Vanessa Webb 6-4, 6-4.
Following a day of rain that washed out all 64 matches Tuesday,
play resumed Wednesday in cloudy, 60-degree weather. Matches were held
on 22 courts to get the tournament back on schedule.
Davenport's match was only her second since early April. She
withdrew from two tournaments because of an injured left ankle,
defaulted in Rome because of the back injury and was unable to
defend her title in Madrid.
Now she hopes to be ready by late June for Wimbledon, where
she's the defending champion.
"I'm hoping in a month's time I can walk out there saying I'm
100 percent healthy," she said.
Davenport looked merely rusty in the first set against Van
Roost, losing serve three times before pulling out the tiebreaker.
By the final set, Davenport could barely move, so she gambled on
shots and finished with 59 unforced errors.
Davenport said she could never remember quitting during a match,
but she considered doing so in the third set.
"I think my back just got fatigued and went into spasms
again," she said. "It's a tough call to make about retiring or
trying to play through it. I could have been 100 percent healthy
and still lost to her. You never know."
The 2-hour, 18-minute match also took a toll on Van Roost. She
was bothered by cramping and called for a trainer three times
during the final set.
"I was still in a lot of trouble," Davenport said with a
laugh, "unless she retired first."
"I was OK, even with that problem," Van Roost said.
The third set was on serve until Van Roost broke for the ninth
time and a 4-2 lead. She then held serve twice to close out the
win.
After Davenport hit an errant return on match point and the
players shook hands, Van Roost sagged in her chair and buried her
head in a towel. Her husband and coach, Bart Van Roost, sat in the
stands sobbing for several minutes.
"It's good to have a husband who is also a coach, because he
knows exactly the situation," she said. "There is a lot behind
the tennis."
| |
ALSO SEE
Agassi rolls past Frenchman Dupuis in first match
Rain washes out second-day play at French Open
Agassi, Hingis get top seeds for French Open
 |
