Seles Has Will, but Davenport Finds a Way

Her legs looked rubbery--maybe even wobbly--but the will of Monica Seles pulled the rest of her body forward. The excited crowd anticipated that a brilliant winner was coming. After all, Seles had been destroying these easy shots.

Seles mightily wound up and pummeled the short forehand--right into the net. After more than 71/2 hours on the court in five matches, the will could guide the way for only so long.

Two points later, the sixth-seeded Seles double faulted at match point and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport picked up her third tournament victory at Manhattan Country Club, winning, 6-3, 7-5, in 68 minutes. Seeing Seles on Sunday in the Estyle.com Classic final was like watching a toy running low on batteries.

Still, Davenport was concerned there might be enough power left for a third set. Seles had pulled off three-set victories in her last three matches, against Sandrine Testud, Serena Williams and Martina Hingis. Even a weary Seles could be dangerous, considering she saved six match points Friday in her quarterfinal against Williams.

“She’s been pulling some matches out, and I definitely wanted to close it out in the second set,” said Davenport, who has defeated Seles nine consecutive times. “You never know what she does on match point--so I’ll take the double fault. I lost to her here one year and had match point in the final, so I’ll take that.”

Seles, who was broken at 15 in the opening game, didn’t find her range until the end of the first set. Davenport, of course, had something to do with that, playing cleanly and powerfully from the baseline in taking a 5-1 lead.

Seles started to stir in the seventh game, holding her serve at love, then broke Davenport to cut the deficit to 5-3. Davenport ended the brief rally and took the first set in 33 minutes, breaking Seles at 15.

After exchanging service breaks early in the second set, they stayed on serve until the final game. Seles made errors on four of the last five points, including her fourth double fault on match point.

Seles made no excuses, though she did laugh about her draw being slightly better at this week’s event in Toronto, which starts today.

“Lindsay ... really overwhelmed me with her serve, and was just so on,” said Seles. “The draw I had here was a joke, with incredibly tough matches every day.”

Though Seles did not win any of the three California events--she was a finalist in two--her stunning form has created another intriguing story in women’s tennis. In the span of 10 days, Seles has turned herself into a U.S. Open contender with victories against Hingis, Jennifer Capriati and Williams.

Naturally, she almost recoils from that kind of talk. But asked if she could have predicted this return to form after missing the French Open and Wimbledon because of a foot injury, Seles shook her head: “I probably would have said no way.”

Davenport showed no such hesitation. “After the last two weeks, I think [Seles is] a lot bigger threat than before,” she said. “Not knowing how she was going to play, coming back from being injured, she’s beating players she wasn’t beating even before she was hurt, especially Serena and Martina. I do really think fatigue played a factor today. At the U.S. Open, it’s different, we have days off and fast courts. I think she’ll do well there.”

And Davenport, the winner at Manhattan Beach, should not be forgotten in New York, either. The year she won the U.S. Open, 1998, she swept the three California hard-court events. Despite struggling in the early rounds, she improved in her last two matches, losing serve only twice. She had eight aces, 27 winners and 13 unforced errors against Seles.

“I’m glad I was able to fight through the early rounds and find my game,” Davenport said. “That’s when it feels good, to find any way to win, even if it’s ugly, which it was sometimes this week.”

Davenport won $90,000 for her fourth title of 2001. Seles came away with $40,000, and was scrambling to catch a flight to Toronto. She entered the tournament on Friday when Davenport and Hingis withdrew because of injuries. It might have seemed odd a tired Seles decided to play a fourth consecutive week.

But there were extra benefits in addition to improving her seeding position for the Open. Because the tour could not fill its player commitment in Toronto, Seles will pick up an extra $20,000, officials said, for helping bail out the tournament.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Dominance

Lindsay Davenport is 9-2 against Monica Seles, and has defeated her nine consecutive times, starting at San Diego in 1998 through Sunday at Manhattan Beach. The streak:

1998--San Diego, hard court

6-4, 2-6, 7-5, semifinals

1998--Manhattan Beach, hard court

6-4, 6-2, semifinals

1998--Philadelphia, indoor

6-3, 6-3, semifinals

1999--Tokyo, hard court

7-5, 7-6 (1), final

2000--Scottsdale, hard court

6-4, 6-4, quarterfinals

2000--Wimbledon, grass

6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-0, quarterfinals

2000--Palo Alto, hard court

7-5, 7-6 (2), semifinals

2001--Palo Alto, hard court

6-4, 6-2, semifinals

2001--Manhattan Beach, hard court

6-3, 7-5, final