Tennis

Looking like winners

Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport display confidence in reaching the quarterfinals.

By wire services
Published June 28, 2005

WIMBLEDON, England - The second Monday at Wimbledon offers the rare treat of all 16 men's and women's fourth-round matches, and on this particular afternoon there was the even rarer sight of Venus Williams playing confident, mistake-free tennis.

Newfound confidence also was witnessed in top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, who pressured Kim Clijsters into three double-faults in the final game of a three-set victory.

Less than 48 hours after sitting with chin on hand while watching her sister Serena lose to Jill Craybas, Williams strode onto the same court against the same opponent, more concerned with righting her own game than restoring family pride.

She managed to do both. Williams won the first six games and the last six to overwhelm Craybas 6-0, 6-2, looking a lot more like the player who won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 than one who hasn't reached a Grand Slam semifinal in two years.

Davenport also had a different look about her in the eyes of Clijsters, a 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3 loser.

"I've seen her work in the gym, lifting weights, stuff I've never seen her do," Clijsters said. "She seems very motivated."

Added Clijsters: "She puts you under so much pressure. From the moment you hit a second serve, you have to start running."

After losing in the semifinals last year, Davenport, 29, said she was considering retiring.

"Working out and getting in better shape has helped me mentally quite a bit," she said. "I think all of that gives me confidence."

Enough to start beating players such as Clijsters and the Williams sisters.

"I very rarely pat myself on the back," Davenport said. "But the players that I just felt like were running me out of the game in 2002, '03 and a little bit of '04, I'm happy that I was able to mentally kind of overcome those barriers with all of them."

Williams, meanwhile, used her 6-foot-1 frame to track down Craybas' shots to the corners and to win 13 of 14 points at the net. She limited her unforced errors to four in the first set, and after falling behind 2-0 in the second, Williams broke back at love.

"She was really fired up today," said Craybas, the former Florida Gator standout. "She definitely has a chance to win the tournament."

First things first, though, starting with a match today against No. 12 Mary Pierce of Sarasota, back in the Wimbledon quarterfinals after a nine-year absence. It's a strong follow-up to reaching the French Open final.

Williams last went that far at a major in 2003 at Wimbledon, also the last time she made a Slam's final four. She won only one title in the past 13 months, and that was a lower-level event where she didn't face anyone ranked above 39th.

Meantime, Russia's women continued their impressive strides in the game. They won three Grand Slam titles last year and now have four quarterfinalists at a major for the first time: defending champion and No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, No. 5 Svetlanta Kuznetsova, No. 8 Nadia Petrova and No. 9 Anastasia Myskina.

Sharapova didn't face a break point in her 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 16 Nathalie Dechy. Myskina, meanwhile, came back from a set down and two breaks against another Russian, No. 6 Elena Dementieva, to win 1-6, 7-6 (11-9), 7-5.

The men also got into the act on a day filled with passing moments of interest for the record attendance of 41,386.

To wit: No. 24-seeded Taylor Dent simply watching a shot land at his feet - clearly in - to give away a break-point chance at 5-4 in the second set of 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt's 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 victory.

No. 10 Mario Ancic, a semifinalist last year, let out his anger after getting broken by No. 26 Feliciano Lopez to start the second set. Ancic picked up a bottle and chucked it, then tossed his racket, which a ball boy fetched. Ancic finished the job by spiking and breaking the racket.

Lopez won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to become the first Spanish man in the Wimbledon quarterfinals since 1972, and No. 21 Fernando Gonzalez defeated No. 31 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to give Chile its first man in the final eight since 1985.

[Last modified June 28, 2005, 01:46:16]