Davenport Earns a Big Rematch

Lindsay Davenport, who nearly beat Steffi Graf earlier this month, will get another shot Thursday.

Davenport and Graf set up their rematch with quarterfinal victories Tuesday at the Lipton Championships.

Graf, seeking her fifth Lipton title, beat No. 5 Kimiko Date, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Davenport eliminated No. 3 Anke Huber with stunning ease, 6-0, 6-1.

In the semifinals at Indian Wells, less than two weeks ago, Graf rallied to beat Davenport, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.

“A great match,” said Davenport, 0-3 against Graf. “It gave me confidence that I could win.”

Said Graf: “We played for two hours and 45 minutes. We probably know each other’s game pretty well.”

In the men’s draw, defending champion Andre Agassi reached the quarterfinals by beating Canadian Sebastien Lareau, 6-4, 6-4. It was the third-seeded Agassi’s first straight-set win in three matches at Lipton.

No. 2 Pete Sampras eliminated No. 16 Todd Martin, 6-3, 6-4.

Also advancing were unseeded Americans Vince Spadea and Michael Joyce, along with No. 4 Michael Chang, No. 6 Goran Ivanisevic, No. 7 Jim Courier and No. 15 Arnaud Boetsch.

Stefan Edberg lost for the first time in 11 matches against Boetsch, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Chang took advantage of consecutive double faults in the next-to-last game by Petr Korda to win, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Courier, the 1991 Lipton champion, rallied past Michael Tebbutt, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Ivanisevic beat No. 12 Andrei Medvedev, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

Spadea, ranked 90th in the world and from nearby Boca Raton, surprised Richard Krajicek, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Joyce beat No. 11 Marc Rosset, 6-4, 6-1.

Date erased seven set points in the first set before the top-seeded Graf took charge in a match that lasted an hour and 47 minutes. That’s exactly one hour longer than Graf’s rout of Mary Joe Fernandez the previous night.

“I don’t think it will change my confidence,” Graf said with a smile.

Davenport, seeded eighth, looked sharp in beating Huber for the fourth consecutive time. A finalist at the Australian Open in January, Huber won only 12 points in the first set.

“She gives me the kind of ball I like to hit,” said Davenport, who won in 48 minutes.

Graf watched a few points, scouting her next opponent.

“Definitely a surprise as to how easy it was,” Graf said. “Lindsay has been starting to play a bit more solid.”