 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Davenport outlasts feisty Uzbek Posted: Wednesday January 15, 2003 4:33 AMUpdated: Wednesday January 15, 2003 12:24 PM MELBOURNE (Reuters) -- A slimmed-down Lindsay Davenport was hustled and harried all the way at the Australian Open on Wednesday before finally overcoming Iroda Tulyaganova 6-7 6-4 7-5 to reach the third round. The former champion, several kilograms lighter than when she lifted the trophy here in 2000, struggled to find any consistency throughout but in the end did just enough against the feisty Uzbek. Relieved, she let out a screech of delight after whipping a forehand cross court past the 57th-ranked Tulyaganova to finally bury her tenacious opponent. "I was getting tired... it was long sets, long points. More than anything I wanted to finish it off," smiled Davenport. "She was hitting a lot of good shots, it was a long and tiring match." The amiable Californian recently split with coach Robert Van't Hof after seven successful years together and is now working with former doubles world number one Rick Leach -- elder brother of fiance Jon Leach. Sporting a large diamond engagement ring on her finger, Davenport seems happier and more laid back than ever as she works her way back into the big time. Having missed the first half of last year through injury, Davenport's ranking has slipped from a career-best of world number one to 10. The easygoing American is glad just to be playing, though. "I am very happy to be here competing... this time last year I was learning to walk on crutches," she smiled. "You know, sometimes you are definitely lucky to be still in the tournament when you don't play your best but manage to win. Some players are not that lucky. "You know, we always get the rap that (top) women win (early rounds) too easily. Now we have had some tough matches and some of the top women are out. "It is a really long season and a lot of the players are still tired. I didn't start practising again until about the 9th, 10th December. "Everything is about scheduling." Seeded ninth this year, the former world number one will next face Tatiana Panova of Russia. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
