A Whimsical Win for Davenport

Lindsay Davenport has learned something about the capriciousness of sport, of the ebb and flow of a long tennis season. She has learned how to read her life’s rises and falls and how not to give in to panic.

Trading on what’s she gleaned over four years on the women’s tour, Davenport has arrived at a place where she can assess a situation and intuit how best to respond. Confirmation of her arrival in that rare athletic zone came Saturday in the final of the State Farm Evert Cup.

Davenport won her second tournament this year in as many tries, devastating Irina Spirlea, 6-2, 6-1, at Hyatt Grand Champions resort. It was the first Tier I title for Davenport, a designation awarded to the WTA Tour’s most prestigious events. She won $205,000.

Her timing held its own symbolism. It was at this tournament in 1993 where Davenport first struck a ball as a professional. It’s been a bumpy journey for the newly philosophical Davenport, who will be ranked No. 7 this week. She has gone from 16-year-old prodigy, to searching teen, and back again, to Olympic champion last summer. She has struggled with expectations, both internal and external.

Now, at 20, Davenport is beginning to get a handle on this life.

“You always think you’ve maybe gotten it down, then you go through another tough time and you learn, ‘This is another lesson,’ ” Davenport said. “The times change so quickly on the tour. You can be doing really well, then you don’t do well, for whatever reason. You have to learn how to pick yourself back up, how to play, how to win when you’re not playing well, how to handle losing.

“I think I’ve gone through a lot. I think I’ve learned a lot. Unfortunately, I still think there’s a lot more I have to go through to really know it all.”

In sports, knowing yourself is close to knowing it all. Davenport, who lives in Newport Beach, is getting there. After the Olympics her golden summer faded into fatigue and the pressure of heightened expectations. This season has been different. Working with her longtime coach, Robert Van’t Hof, Davenport has reached a new level of fitness and has regained her former court command.

“For me, it’s important to be confident and just feel good about myself when I go out on the court,” Davenport said. “I need to want to play, feel fresh to play. I have the last couple of weeks. I’ve been pretty eager to play well.”

Saturday’s final was testimony to Davenport’s eagerness to play, as she stormed through the match in 64 minutes. She came out attacking Spirlea’s serve and let the Romanian know she was going to pounce on any easy serves.

There were many. Spirlea, who will be ranked No. 9 this week, held serve only once during the match. Her second serve was a disaster: Spirlea won only 18% of her second-serve points.

“You cannot play a second serve with Lindsay,” she said. “Even if you play the first serve, she’s returning very deep. I was thinking too much what I have to do instead of trying to put the serve in, the first one, let her make the shot or miss it. I was missing before her.”

Davenport was missing little. She kept the pressure on with her usual strategy of aiming for the lines. Spirlea, who has a potent forehand that is frequently compared to Steffi Graf’s, was pinned down and unable to respond.

“She hits the ball very hard,” Spirlea said. “I was surprised. . . . You have no time to go back and you have no time to come into the ball. You eat the ball.”

Spirlea was unable to unleash her forehand and rarely played a shot other than defensively. Davenport’s confidence was brimming and, combined with her newly learned lessons, it makes a potent combination.

“Last year, after the Olympics, everyone expected me to win the U.S. Open,” she said. “I felt a lot of pressure then. I think this time I’m just going to enjoy this. I hope I can keep moving up, keep it going. I don’t want to worry. I think I learned some lessons last time I was doing well. Hopefully, I can do it a little differently.”