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 Costly loss Davenport falls to Venus, loses No. 1 ranking to Hingis
Posted: Saturday August 07, 1999 11:59 PM
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Lindsay Davenport didn't look like the world's No. 1 player. And now she isn't. Spraying errors all over the court and consistently missing her first serve, Davenport lost to fourth-seeded Venus Williams 6-4, 7-5 Saturday in the TIG Classic semifinals. "I just felt a little flat and a little sluggish," said Davenport, who served 12 aces in a 7-5, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Anke Huber on Friday night. The loss cost Davenport the world's top ranking. "I kind of knew I'd lose it this summer because I have so many points to defend," said Davenport, who won three consecutive California tournaments and the U.S. Open last summer. "I'll just try to get it back during the Open." No. 2 seed Martina Hingis defeated seventh-seeded Amanda Coetzer 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes to reach Sunday's final and regain the No. 1 ranking she lost on July 4. "I'm quite confident playing Amanda. She doesn't kill me right away as some other players do," Hingis said. "You always have a chance to get back into the point." A business-like Hingis wasted little time in dispatching Coetzer. The Swiss teen-ager won 13 of the last 14 points and broke Coetzer's serve six times. "She really didn't have a lot of pressure on her from my side. She really played too well for me," Coetzer said. "I was in and out of the points too quickly." Hingis holds a 6-3 career edge over Williams, who prevailed in three sets on clay in the Italian Open in May. "It's a pretty big test. I can really see how I am doing," Hingis said. "I have to take my chances. If I don't, I'm out of there." It was Williams' second victory in 10 career meetings and first since 1998 against Davenport. The 19-year-old lost to Davenport in straight sets last week in the Stanford final. "I learned a lot from the match last week," Williams said. "All the matches I've played before with her, she did overpower me and that was mainly because I was unable to generate good power on my forehand." Neither woman was particularly sharp on a windy day at the La Costa Resort and Spa, but that didn't stop Williams from reaching her fifth final of the year. She's won four titles. "I don't know why we were both off," Williams said. "Usually I'm off and she's on and I lose." Williams let a 3-0 lead disappear in the first set before breaking Davenport's serve for the third time with a forehand winner down the line to take the set in 33 minutes. It was all part of her strategy to swing away on her forehand, a shot she grew tired of others picking on. "In the last year or so, people started taking advantage of it and after matches declaring, `Oh yeah, just hit to her forehand' in the press. I wasn't very happy about that," Williams said. "I decided the only way I can stop it is just to get better." Davenport noticed the difference. "Her forehand has improved a lot over the last few months. It used to be a real weakness," she said. "I don't think I made her hit enough of them. Her backhand is one of the best in the game. Maybe I went too much there." The compliment made Williams smile. "It's no longer my weakness and I'm really glad she sees that," she said. "You have to send a message, `Hey, I've improved it. Find something else if you can.'" Davenport, who lost for just the second time in her last 20 matches in California, moved out to a 4-2 lead in the second set. But Williams served the second of two love games, then broke Davenport's serve at love to tie the set 4-4. Both players traded service games for a 5-5 tie before Williams won the final two games as Davenport committed two unforced errors to end the match. "It's pretty disappointing when you just keep losing for no particular reason against the same opponent. At some point it has to change," Williams said.
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