U.S. Overcomes Ailments, Belgium to Reach Finals

The future of women’s tennis comes in the form of two charismatic teenagers from a tiny European nation emerging from the shadows of France and Spain.

Maybe some day, possibly sooner than later, the likes of Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will be able to take advantage of a struggling star. On Wednesday, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport may have been saddled with ailments in the semifinals of the Fed Cup competition but experience was almost as important as a potent serve.

There were two other important numbers: Clijsters is 17, Henin 18.

Which is one of the reasons Henin couldn’t force a third set against Seles, who was suffering from a sudden bout of diarrhea. And it had something to do with why Clijsters couldn’t pull off her first career victory against Davenport, who was hobbling after the first set.

Seles defeated Henin, 7-6 (1), 6-2, in the opening singles match at Mandalay Bay Events Center, and Davenport clinched the U.S. victory against the Belgians by defeating Clijsters, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.

Davenport, suffering from a sore right calf muscle, withdrew from the meaningless doubles match. She was replaced by Jennifer Capriati. Dominique Van Roost and Els Callens defeated Capriati and Lisa Raymond, 6-3, 7-5.

In the finals Friday and Saturday, the U.S. will face Spain. The series between the nations is 4-4, and the Spaniards won the most recent match, the semifinals in 1998, on clay in Spain.

“We’ve definitely been the two teams in the decade that have done the best in Fed Cup,” Davenport said. “Indoors is a huge advantage. Maybe on clay we would consider it more of a grudge match. Hopefully the fast surface will help us.”

Davenport and Seles were impressed with the opposition in the semifinals.

“It’s tough to say she’ll be No. 1, 2 or 3, but she’s got the potential to do it,” Davenport said of Clijsters.

Seles had problems reading Henin’s ground strokes in the first set but it became apparent she was having physical problems, needing to leave the court for a bathroom break. Seles had started strongly, taking a 5-0 lead before Henin began to settle down, minimizing her unforced errors.

Henin won five consecutive games and had a break point at 5-5.

“I was afraid to win the game and win the set. I was a little bit nervous,” she said.

Then, Henin stated the obvious.

“She was older,” Henin said of Seles.

Seles was slightly embarrassed by her difficulties but quite candid.

“I had no idea,” she said. “It just really started at 4-0. I feel fine. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. It’s just really strange. It was very up and down. Suddenly, I disappeared a little bit. I was feeling fine. At 4-0, it got worse and worse and I lost focus.”

Davenport had her problems a little later in the first set. She felt a sudden pain in her right calf in the first-set tiebreaker.

“It kind of bothered me when I pushed off, and it didn’t get worse,” Davenport said. “The trainer rubbed it out and it was no big deal. . . . I think it will be fine. In the third set, it happened a couple of times where it tightened up.”

Davenport’s powerful serve paid off in the third set. She took a 3-0 lead and held on, despite the injury.

“It’s pretty amazing when one break decided the second and third sets,” Davenport said. “I didn’t think I returned that well. One break in the third and I was able to hold on the whole way. That’s what kept me in there. Because I felt out of sync on the ground strokes. I felt if I didn’t hit it great, she would hit a great shot.”

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Fed Cup Finals

* Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas

* Who: Spain vs. United States.

* When: Friday (noon), two singles. Saturday (noon), two singles, one doubles.

* TV: Friday, noon, ESPN2; Saturday, 2 p.m., ESPN2 (delayed).

* Who’s playing: Spain--Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Conchita Martinez, Magui Serna, Virginia Ruano Pascual. U.S.--Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Lisa Raymond, Jennifer Capriati.