Victory Is Bittersweet for Davenport

Tournament referee Alan Mills has the gift, or call it a subtle British sense of irony, that he used Tuesday to soften a potentially serious incident on Centre Court.

Corina Morariu was in major pain after taking a tumble on the grass early in the second set against her friend and doubles partner, defending champion Lindsay Davenport. They were waiting for a doctor when Mills walked over to Davenport, who was trying to stay focused.

“We were waiting to see what happened with Corina and he said, ‘Remember last time we were sitting here?’ ” Davenport said.

That would be Davenport’s chat with Mills a year ago, minutes after she had defeated Steffi Graf in straight sets for the Wimbledon singles championship.

And so, despite Morariu’s injuries, Davenport’s title defense began with fond memories of 1999.

Morariu had to withdraw because of an injured left elbow and shoulder.

The second-seeded Davenport was leading, 6-3, 1-0, when the accident occurred. Morariu, who was trying to change direction at the baseline, went tumbling and used her left hand to break the fall. She and Davenport are the defending doubles champions, and Morariu’s injuries will be reevaluated today.

“It’s a very bittersweet way to win,” Davenport said.

She knows something about this particular sentiment. Davenport was the player hurt by an injury at the last Grand Slam, the French Open. She suffered a lower back injury at the Italian Open and had not fully recovered by the time she lost to Dominique Van Roost of Belgium in the first round at Roland Garros.

Her pain was evident as she re-injured her back against Van Roost.

“In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have played,” she said after Tuesday’s abbreviated match. “I wanted to give it a chance. People had different opinions. It was tough. It was pretty bad a couple of days beforehand, where I almost went home.

“It’s hard to not go out there if you have an opportunity. Who knows what could have happened? If you get through one or two rounds, it can get better. But it was a tough draw. That’s what happened.”

Davenport said her back is fine now, and the excitement of returning to Wimbledon helped her get over the disappointment of the French Open. The implications started to sink in just before she took the court at 2 p.m., as she talked to her coach, Robert Van’t Hof.

” . . . I was sitting there with Robert, I said, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ ” Davenport said. “Even when you win it, it’s pretty exciting to think of going back out there as defending champion. It’s come again and a year has gone by and we’re back. It was a great feeling. A lot of excitement, nerves to a certain point.

“The aura of Centre Court is palpable. It’s the most amazing court in the whole world to play on. You can feel it every time you go out there.”

She will play Elena Likhovtseva of Russia in the second round, and it will be only her fourth match since the French Open loss. Van Roost, once again, beat Davenport under windy conditions last week in a grass-court event at Eastbourne, England.

“The improvement I’ve made in a week has been pretty big,” Davenport said. “I thought I was playing pretty well. Nothing spectacular, nothing awful.”

Van Roost, meanwhile, was one of four seeded players who lost in women’s first-round action. Jennifer Capriati, having an erratic 2000, beat the 16th-seeded Van Roost, 6-2, 6-4. Gala Leon Garcia of Spain defeated No. 13 Amelie Mauresmo of France, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, and Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands took out No. 14 Julie Halard-Decugis of France, 7-6 (4), 0-6, 6-1.

The fourth upset was turned in by 17-year-old Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Clijsters, who lost to Graf in the fourth round last year, beat seventh-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Tauziat, 32, who said this probably would be her final Wimbledon, grew teary when talking about her biggest regret, losing here in the ’98 final to Jana Novotna. She said the decision to quit was not difficult.

“Because it’s life,” Tauziat said. “One day I have to stop. This year, I wanted to play well here, and I didn’t. I lost. That’s it. It’s finished.”