Semifinal Win Rite of Passage for Davenport

If they couldn’t say anything nice about her, Lindsay Davenport knew people would not stop saying anything at all. So she simply quit listening and reading about her shortcomings in Grand Slam events and let the brash teenagers elbow and jostle for the spotlight.

Deep down, Davenport knew she was good enough, smart enough and strong enough to reach a Grand Slam final. Years of self-belief turned into reality Friday when the second-seeded Davenport overpowered fifth-seeded Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4, in a 72-minute semifinal at the U.S. Open.

Davenport, 22, overcame years of skepticism to reach her first Grand Slam final after falling short in three other Grand Slam semifinals. In today’s final, she will play defending champion and top-seeded Martina Hingis, who defeated third-seeded Jana Novotna, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the other semifinal. Novotna squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set.

So many thoughts rushed through Davenport’s mind when a forehand service return from Williams sailed out on her first match point.

“I knew the return was going long--it was a relief,” said Davenport, who shared her victory with her mother Ann and other family members in the friends’ box.

“It was happiness. It was joy, obviously, getting to my first final. Just almost like you can’t believe it.

“No one ever said when I was growing up I was ever going to be any good or get to a Grand Slam final. Or in my teens, I wasn’t expected to do anything.

“I think I’ve really proven a lot of people wrong. I have tried so hard to do the best I can. I’m not the most unbelievable athlete. I’m not anything. I just tried so hard to get where I’m at. I think it’s great.”

It was a semifinal meeting of substance vs. style.

Davenport was never been hyped. Williams, 18, has hyped herself, saying she will be No. 1.

Williams’ clothing sponsor made seven outfits for her Open run, designing one for every round. Davenport does not have seven different styles, only one.

“What color was the seventh going to be?” Davenport asked of Williams’ outfit for the final. “I wanted to know that.”

Said Williams: “I’m actually going to put that one in a coffin and bury it. It was red, white and blue.”

Williams had been hoping to unveil it today. She lost in the final last year to Hingis and has not been to a Grand Slam final since.

Davenport broke Williams’ service five times, including four times in the opening set. But Davenport, struggling herself, lost her serve three times in the first set. She settled down in the second and was not broken.

Williams’ unforced errors outnumbered her winners, 26-13. She is rarely outhit from the baseline, but Davenport was effective with her cross-court forehand. Additionally, Davenport negated some of Williams’ power by playing the ball up the middle of the court, not allowing Williams to get an angle on her ground strokes.

“I think she played very well,” Williams said. “She had some bad areas in the match, but she was still able to come through, whereas I wasn’t. I have to tell myself the truth, so I can move on to better days.”

Said Davenport: “She wasn’t going for her shots as much, trying maybe to be a little more consistent. It gave me more time to set up. I knew if I had the opportunity, I really had to go for the shot.”

Davenport began the tournament with plenty of confidence, having won three of her last four tournaments. One of those victories in a final was against Williams at Palo Alto.

There, Williams slightly irritated Davenport by taking an injury timeout when Davenport was up one set and a service break. Williams took a bathroom break in the second set on Friday.

“I was kind of laughing that she might do it again,” Davenport said. “And then she did it. I was like, ‘Oh God.’

“I’m not saying she didn’t have to go to the bathroom. I don’t know if she did. But it seems to be happening a lot with all those players. And I don’t like it.”

Davenport managed to stay calm, especially when she served for the match, winning the last game at love. She was relieved the final is today, rather than Sunday.

“You have a big win,” she said. “You’ve got to get over it and play the next day. Hopefully that will happen.”

Hingis is a familiar opponent, holding a 6-5 edge over Davenport. Davenport lost to her at the U.S. Open last year but won their most recent meeting, at Manhattan Beach in the final last month.

By defeating Novotna, Switzerland’s Hingis retains her No. 1 ranking, no matter what happens in the final. “I knew it. That’s why I was kind of fighting,” she said. “I was always taught to--or raised that way--that I always have pressure on myself. The harder, the better.”

For Novotna, who won only four of the final 22 points, it was another disheartening loss, similar to her collapse in the 1993 Wimbledon final against Steffi Graf. With her Wimbledon title in July, those days were supposed to be in the past.

In the third set, the Czech botched a couple of key high volleys, and her manner became dispirited immediately.

“I don’t think it really had anything to do with my mistakes,” she said. “I simply made the mistakes for different reasons. Everything was working in the previous matches, and suddenly at 4-1, I started to miss most of them.”

Semifinal Match Might Be the Best

Defending champion Patrick Rafter faces top-ranked Pete Sampras, with the winner getting Carlos Moya or Mark Philippoussis. C7

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Today’s Final

* What: U.S. Open women’s singles.

* Who: Martina Hingis (1) vs. Lindsay Davenport (2).

* When: After first men’s semifinal, which begins at 8 a.m.

* Where: New York.

* Television: Channels 2, 8