WIMBLEDON / WOMEN’S DRAW : Davenport Coming of Age With Momentum

Given the choice of becoming Jennifer Capriati, the Sequel, or simply Lindsay Davenport, the mostly normal kid from Murrieta Valley High, Davenport decided you can’t put a price tag on teen-age innocence.

So she stayed in school, turned pro--but unlike Capriati, picked her spots--went to the prom, went to graduation ceremonies and then went to Wimbledon.

Now an official full-time member of the working force, the ninth-seeded Davenport went someplace else Friday--to the fourth round, courtesy of her 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, victory over Germany’s Barbara Rittner. One more victory and Davenport reaches her second Grand Slam event quarterfinal.

Her march through the women’s draw hasn’t gone unnoticed. Pam Shriver, who has played at Wimbledon every year since 1978 and advanced to the semifinals three times, still likes Martina Navratilova and Conchita Martinez to meet for the title. But. . . .

“It may still be a bit early for her, but she’s dangerous,” Shriver said of Davenport. “She’s dangerous . . . she returns serve so well. On grass, someone who can dictate play with the heavy-duty groundstrokes off both sides is a real force.”

In only her second Wimbledon, Davenport, 18, has found herself among the favorites to do more damage. With top-seeded Steffi Graf back home in the Rhineland, the women’s singles is no longer an exercise in futility. Any of the remaining seeded players, among them Davenport, can win the right to raise the silver salver overhead.

Davenport was originally in the lower part of the draw, with No. 4 Navratilova, No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, No. 5 Jana Novotna and No. 13 Zina Garrison-Jackson, among others. But then Mary Pierce withdrew and Davenport was moved to the other bracket, where five-time champion Graf resided.

So what happens? Graf loses, leaving the 6-foot-2, 165-pound Davenport with a significantly easier path. She now faces No. 10 Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over American Meredith McGrath.

A victory Monday against Sabatini is no sure thing. Three years ago, Sabatini served for the championship here twice, but lost.

“I would probably rather play Sabatini, just because I’d be the underdog and it would be a great match to win,” Davenport said.

Whatever happens, Davenport doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to reach stardom, at least not the kind that prompted Capriati, three months her senior, to forfeit her youth. Capriati, who turned pro a week before her 14th birthday, turned herself in to drug rehab before her 19th.

The lesson wasn’t lost on Davenport, who spent a year on the tour as an amateur before deciding to turn pro in February of 1993. She remains forever grateful for the wait and forever sorry for Capriati.

“I think (Capriati’s arrest) is unfortunate, because I don’t think she really was able to have anything normal, like friends, or shopping, or even going to the movies, and that was something I definitely got to experience,” said Davenport, the first American woman to crack the top 10 rankings--she’s No. 9--since Capriati in October of 1990.

Said Davenport, “I really feel--and my sisters and my whole family feel--I had very normal teen-age and high school years when I was at home. It’s something I would never trade back. It was probably some of the best times so far in my life.”

Like everyone in tennis, Davenport followed Capriati’s career closely. One of her lasting memories is of watching Capriati, only 15 when she became the youngest semifinalist in U.S. Open history, play Monica Seles at Flushing Meadow in 1991. Now she roots for Capriati again.

“I think everybody wants her to come back,” Davenport said. “I know I do.”

If it were up to Davenport, there would be no more Capriati-type stories. That’s because there would be no more touring pros barely old enough to baby-sit.

“I don’t think girls need to be out there at 14 and even 15,” she said. “There’s no way they can handle everything on their own. And this is a job and you shouldn’t have 20 people helping you with it.”

And if she does happen to lose to Sabatini, don’t be surprised if Davenport visits a practice court late that night. Sometimes she will simply go out and hit.

For the fun of it. Something Capriati apparently never had the chance to understand.

Women’s Notes

Among the other winners in the women’s upper draw: third-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, who beat Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-1, 6-3, and unseeded Larisa Neiland of Latvia, who defeated No. 6 Kimiko Date of Japan, 6-3, 6-2. . . . No. 14 Amanda Coetzer also advanced, beating Ginger Helgeson of Alpine, Calif., 6-0, 6-3.

Pam Shriver was eliminated from singles competition by Argentina’s Florencia Labat, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Shriver, who is still alive in the doubles competition, played recently at the Eastbourne tournament, where she exchanged unpleasantries with Australian Rachel McQuillan. Or as Shriver put it, “Just generally down-in-the-trenches bitching.” Shriver was upset at McQuillan for sitting in Shriver’s assigned sideline chair. Something of a cat fight ensued, and McQuillan later told Shriver, “You’re old, you’re haggard and you should retire.” Shriver happily reminded McQuillan of her failings as Australia’s next great player.