Top three Americans reach quarters

SAN DIEGO, California, Aug 1 (Reuters) -- Lindsay Davenport, looking more and more like the player who ended 2001 as the world No. 1, overcame fellow American Chanda Rubin 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the $750,000 Acura Classic.

Playing in only her second tournament since undergoing knee surgery in January, third seed Davenport outslugged the speedy Rubin from the baseline.

"I thought it was a really good match," said Davenport, who committed 38 unforced errors to Rubin's 44. "I felt like if I didn't do something with the ball, she was going to hit a winner.

"My game is to go for it, and I didn't even think about unforced errors. Her approach is a lot the same."

Serving with variety and smacking deep returns, the three-time Grand Slam champion won the first set when she forced Rubin into a forehand return error.

But Rubin, who has recently revived her career by reaching the fourth round at both the French Open and Wimbledon, would not give up as she attacked the net and started to play more aggressively from the baseline.

She broke serve to grab a 3-1 lead in the second set and leveled the match when Davenport committed an unforced error on the forehand.

Rubin, though, lost five game points in the first game of the third set. On break point, with Davenport charging the net, Rubin appeared to hit a forehand crosscourt winner, but it clipped the top of the net and her opponent put the ball away.

"The match turned there for sure," Davenport said. "She had lots of chances there and made a bunch of unforced errors. I felt really fortunate to get that game."

Davenport will now play Ai Sugiyama in the quarterfinals after the Japanese player scored a 6-4, 7-6, (4) win over Slovenia's Katerina Srebotnik.

American pair Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati, the top two seeds, stormed into the quarterfinals. Williams crushed Luxembourg's Anne Kremer 6-3, 6-2 to earn a rematch of last week's Bank of the West Classic final against fifth-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters, who put out Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-3.

Second seed Capriati outplayed fellow countrywoman Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4, 6-1 and will now face sixth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia in the last eight.

Anna Kournikova also continued to make progress, overcoming Spain's Conchita Martinez 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. The unseeded Russian now meets 12th seed Anna Smashnova of Israel, who she beat in the first round of the Bank of the West event.

Capriati was lethal against Shaughnessy, outrunning her hard-hitting opponent off the ground and jumping on her serves.

The 26-year-old is working with a new trainer, Courtney Lewis, in order to regain top fitness.

"I played really well," said Capriati, who has not won a title since claiming her second Australian Open crown in January. "Meghann's a good competitor so I had to be really focused.

"I hired Courtney because I was feeling a little sluggish the past couple of months. Now I feel lighter and more fluid."

Shaughnessy was so frustrated by her inability to make an impact that she thumped a ball into the stands in the second set.

"I understand how frustrating it can be when you can't do anything against someone who's playing well," Capriati said. "She's feisty."

Williams picked up her sixth successive win by overpowering Kremer. "I served a lot better than yesterday and returned very well," said the American after reeling off 22 winners.

"It doesn't matter who I'm playing, I still try to force the issue."

Kournikova, 21, wore down 30-year-old Martinez, who had played two long three-setters to reach the third round.

"She wasn't making many mistakes," said the Spaniard. "She was patient and fighting a lot, which she didn't always do in the past."

"Conchita is really smart and uses the court well. I haven't played well against her in the past. I had to be patient and attack at the right time," Kournikova said.

 

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