Injured Wrist Not Slowing Davenport

For Lindsay Davenport, resorting to a one-handed backhand was not an option she could realistically consider.

That is why her ailing left wrist nearly kept her out of the French Open. Davenport, seeded second, had played in only one event since the injury occurred at the Lipton in March and she was more worried about surgery, not the clay-court conditions in Europe.

“For a few weeks I didn’t think I’d be playing here,” said Davenport, a semifinalist here last year. “I’ve never had to have surgery, and your first thought is, ‘Gosh, I hope I can play again.’ So to be able to be here is huge.”

Davenport, of Newport Beach, had a couple of injections, put the wrist in a splint and resumed hitting two-handed backhands three weeks ago. She surprised herself by winning her second tournament of the year, on Saturday in Madrid, and she had little trouble on Tuesday in the first round, beating Jane Chi, 6-3, 6-1.

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Away from the spotlight, former teen star Jennifer Capriati won her first tournament in six years, in Strasbourg, France.

She continued the momentum with a 6-2, 6-3 first-round victory against Virginia Ruano-Pascual of Spain.

Capriati, 23, has had a long road back filled with many stops and starts. Lately, she has been helped by her new coach, former pro Harold Solomon.

“You’re the only one who can really figure out your own life,” she said. “So I think a lot of the credit goes to me.”

Capriati laughed and patted herself on the back.

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The muscles behind the power of Mary Pierce’s shots have been built with the help of the widely used dietary supplement creatine, a fact she freely admits.

Her revelations have caused a stir in France, and she cannot understand the controversy.

“It’s like any other kind of supplementation, like vitamins, anything like that,” she said. “I really do not see why we should make such a fuss about this. In the States, you can buy it anywhere. In supermarkets, you find it.”