Davenport Downs Williams

The two most imposing women in professional tennis--that’s in stature not so much as status--crowded onto the center court at the Australian Open on Tuesday, but failed to produce a towering match.

What resulted was expected, the second-seeded and 6-foot-3 Lindsay Davenport defeated the unseeded and 6-2 Venus Williams, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. But as a spectacle and display of raw power, the match was fascinating.

It is only the second time Davenport has advanced to the semifinals of a Grand Slam event. She got to the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year, losing to Martina Hingis.

For the first 17 minutes of the match, it appeared Davenport would be placed in the unusual position of being overpowered on a tennis court. So overwhelming was Williams that Davenport produced only three winners in the set.

Williams said she played “practically perfect tennis” for the first set. Davenport concurred.

“I was totally overplayed, and she just dominated the first set,” Davenport said. “I made a few errors, but there weren’t many chances that I had in the first set.”

Roles reversed after that, with Davenport taking control and taking advantage of break points. Williams converted only five of the 14 break points she held in the second and third sets.

“I have to capitalize on my opportunities,” Williams said. “It’s just like life. You let them pass you by, you don’t get them again, and I had too many in that match.”

For Davenport, who like everyone on the tour has been overshadowed by the interest in the 17-year-old Williams, the victory was sweet.

“I don’t think many people expected me to get there,” Davenport said of her place in the semifinals. “Last week I was definitely . . . I don’t know what the word is . . . maybe, overlooked a bit. Kind of off the back page, which is fine. I have just been able to play my way quietly through the draw.”

There’s nothing quiet about Williams.Scratch her and she’s still a teenager. She and her sister, Serena, do most of their shopping at beach shops and are laden with the totems of teenage--purple fingernail polish, glitter eyeshadow, braided friendship bracelets and an affinity for decibel-challenging music.

“I’m doing the best I can to have fun,” Williams said. “That’s all you can do. Because in the end, when it’s all over with, at least I can say I had a good time and a good career. . . . It’s my first Australian Open and I’m having fun.”