Davenport Wins Over Best Friend Rubin for Second Time in a Week

Playing against her best friend once in a week was enough for Lindsay Davenport, the 17-year-old Murrieta Valley High senior who opened the French Open against Chanda Rubin.

The two, who often trained and traveled together in the U.S. Tennis Assn. touring pro program, met in the semifinals of a clay-court tournament in Lucerne, Switzerland, last weekend.

Davenport won by default when Rubin, from Lafayette, La., retired in the second set because of a sore shoulder.

At Roland Garros Stadium Wednesday, Davenport won again, 6-7 (7-2), 6-4, 6-2, in a first-round match that took two days to finish because of darkness.

“She would have rather started against someone else,” said Robert Van’t Hof, Davenport’s coach. “It’s always tough for them to play each other.”

The No. 9-ranked Davenport, who skipped her high school prom to play in Lucerne, was one of four-seeded women to advance.

Top-ranked Steffi Graf, who usually blows through the early rounds, had some problems with No. 67 Stephanie Rottier of the Netherlands before rallying for a 7-5, 6-3 victory on Court 2.

“I kind of had the feeling when I got into the match, ‘I am not playing well,’ ” Graf said.

After such domination this year, why the struggles?

“It just happens,” she said, adding that she had felt uncomfortable on a court usually used by lesser players.

With six of the seeded women, including four of the top eight, losing their opening matches, Davenport, No. 10 Mary Joe Fernandez, No. 12 Mary Pierce and No. 15 Helena Sukova have become Graf’s prime challengers.

Fernandez ousted Angelica Galvadon of Mexico, 6-0, 6-1, to advance to the third round with Pierce, who defeated Maria-Francesca Bentivoglio of Italy, 6-0, 6-1.

Sukova, of the Czech Republic, defeated Clare Wood of Britain, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.