Aches and Pains Get to Younger Generation

The fittest player left standing in the Estyle.com Classic was the oldest on the tour, 33-year-old Nathalie Tauziat of France.

All she needs is a postmatch massage and “nine hours of sleep,” and Tauziat feels all right, ready for another day, another upset.

And the others?

Well, the kids are not all right.

Elena Dementieva, 19, needed an injury timeout in the middle of the second set Friday against Lindsay Davenport because of a strained right quadriceps.

Her participation in next week’s tournament in Toronto is questionable.

Martina Hingis, 20, has a sore left foot and withdrew from Toronto. Serena Williams, 19, was spotted limping Thursday by a security guard. Friday, she showed excellent mobility against Monica Seles, but Williams has been beset by injuries in 2001.

Davenport, 25, is older than Williams, Dementieva and Hingis, but no less injured. She missed several months because of a right bone bruise earlier this year, and Friday pulled out of Toronto because of recurring tendinitis in her left wrist.

In the last game against Dementieva, she rolled over on her right ankle and needed to see a trainer later. “I’m so spastic,” Davenport said. “I went over on it, I just kind of tripped. It’s all right now.”

Hingis, who splits her down time between Switzerland and Florida, is aware of everything. She walked into the press room and spotted the widow of Korey Stringer, Kelci, being interviewed on TV.

“I know that name from the newspapers,” Hingis said. “What is she saying?”

Hingis manages to read plenty too. She spotted a local weekly newspaper and picked it up, laughing at the headline, “I’m Too Sexy for My Skirt.” Pictured on the cover were Serena Williams and Hingis, in separate action shots.

“They are comparing me to Serena,” Hingis said, giggling.