Graf, Davenport advance in Evert Cup tennis
Posted: Tues March 10, 1998 at 11:50 p.m. EST
Former world No. 1 Steffi Graf of Germany and defending champion
Lindsay Davenport of the United States both won in straight sets
today at the $1.25 million Evert Cup tennis event at Indian
Wells, California.
Graf, the third seed and a two-time champion at this event,
defeated No. 15 Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, 6-3, 6-0, in a
quarterfinal match. Davenport, seeded second, cruised to a 6-2,
6-2 victory over No. 13 Ruxandra Dragomir of Romania in a
third-round encounter.
Earlier, fourth seed and two-time finalist Amanda Coetzer of
South Africa was eliminated by compatriot Joannette Kruger, 2-6,
6-4, 6-4; and fifth seed Conchita Martinez of Spain, another
two-time finalist, dumped Russian teenager Anna Kournikova, the
16th seed, 6-3, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Martinez, a finalist
in 1992 and '96, will take on top seed Martina Hingis of
Switzerland in a rematch of this year's Australian Open final,
won by Hingis in straight sets.
Also, eighth-seeded American Venus Williams, who captured her
first professional singles title two weeks ago in Oklahoma City,
defeated 10th seed Dominique van Roost of Belgium, 6-4, 6-1, in
the final match of the evening.
The 28-year-old Graf, the 1994 and '96 champion, is playing in
just her second tournament and the semifinal will be her sixth
match since undergoing season-ending knee surgery last June.
Graf recorded a "double-bagel" victory over Zvereva to win the
1988 French Open title.
After several setbacks in her comeback attempt this season, she
finally made her debut at last month's Faber Grand Prix in
Hannover, Germany, losing to Sabine Appelmans in the
quarterfinals.
Because she was ranked third in the world following the 1997
French Open, Graf is receiving a special seeding of third in
events leading up to next week's Lipton Championships.
Davenport, ranked second, has compiled a 14-3 record this
season, including a victory over top-ranked Hingis in the final
of last month's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She reached the
semifinals at the Australian Open, losing to Martinez, and also
was a semifinalist at Oklahoma City, losing to Williams. The
21-year-old Davenport won six titles overall last season, second
only to Hingis.
Hingis swept past Meike Babel of Germany in 51 minutes Monday.
The 17-year-old Hingis, who displaced Graf for the No. 1 ranking
last March, captured this year's Australian Open, her fourth
Grand Slam title in two years. She had not played since losing
to Davenport in Tokyo.
Hingis, 12-2 this season, finished 1997 with just five losses
and 12 singles titles. She claimed her 54th straight victory
against players ranked outside the top 25 when she won on
Monday.
First prize is $205,000.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
|
