Davenport Enjoys Return With a Bit of Perspective

A bone bruise in her right knee forced Lindsay Davenport out of tennis for almost three months this spring, causing her to miss a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career when she couldn’t play in the French Open.

It left her wondering about her future, at least for the remainder of this year.

But last week, in a warmup tournament for Wimbledon on the grass at Eastbourne, Davenport was encouraged--exuberant, really--because of her unexpected title, beating Magui Serna in a final that lasted a mere 43 minutes.

Her two victories this week at the All England Club might not confirm that she is entirely back. How could she be after missing so much time? Wearing a large bandage on her right knee, she appeared hobbled early in her Center Court match Thursday.

Davenport soon found her stride, though, and easily overcame Alicia Molik, 6-4, 6-2. If Davenport continues to play as well as she did in the middle of the match, she could return to the final for the third consecutive year. (She was Wimbledon champion two years ago.)

She would have to beat defending champion Venus Williams in a semifinal, no easy task even if Davenport hadn’t been hurt this year. But, if she can do that, it would be a very good tennis story.

If you’re looking for good tennis stories, Wimbledon is as good a place as any to find them. Andy Roddick, the 40th-ranked Nebraskan who will turn 19 in August, has created a stir in his first appearance here. Someone named Barry Cowan almost upset Pete Sampras. Someone named Virginia Ruano Pascual did upset Martina Hingis. Veterans Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic are letting everyone know they’re still here.

All of this excitement, and Anna Kournikova hasn’t even shown up to sell anything. OK, she’s barely a tennis story, especially now that she’s injured, but everything she does is news.

Occasionally, something happens that makes the tennis world face the real world and recognize that nothing that goes on at all-important Wimbledon is really that important.

A few weeks ago, Corina Morariu revealed that she has leukemia. She is 23.

Unless you’re an avid tennis fan, you might not know much, or anything, about Morariu. She’s one of about a million Florida pro tennis players, but she’s better than most. She has won a WTA tour singles title and twice reached the third round at Wimbledon. Most of her success, though, has come in doubles. She was ranked No. 1 for a time last year and, in 1999, won the Wimbledon title with Davenport.

She hadn’t played very well this year and complained of shortness of breath and an inability to concentrate, but she wondered if those were merely excuses.

Then, after returning home to Boca Raton from a tournament in Berlin in mid-May, she experienced nosebleeds and frequent bruising. Her father, a Romanian native who was the late Tim Gullikson’s neurologist when Gullikson died in 1996 of brain cancer, persuaded her to see a doctor.

Morariu received good news this week. In a TV interview Wednesday, Morariu said she learned during a doctor’s visit Tuesday that her cancer is in remission, though she faces two more rounds of chemotherapy.

“I still have a long road ahead of me,” she said. “But I am feeling really good. I am up and able to go shopping and go out and eat and do all of that fun stuff that I missed when I was in the hospital.”

Until then, many of her good moments were provided by her friends on the tour. The image of women’s tennis players as supermodels who compete on the court for titles and off the court for endorsements, with everyone disliking each other, is not entirely false. But it’s not the case for everyone.

Morariu’s bridesmaids when she married her coach, Andrew Turcinovich, two years ago were Mary Joe Fernandez, Lisa Raymond and Kristine Kunce. Before Jennifer Capriati’s quarterfinal match at the French Open, she held up a sign for the TV cameras encouraging Morariu to get well. When Capriati won the tournament, she said she had dedicated it to Morariu.

When Davenport heard the diagnosis, her knee didn’t hurt anymore.

“It’s one of those things where it was almost like, you know, I was actually a little mad at myself for being so down about a knee injury,” Davenport said this week.

“I was really disappointed when I had to pull out of the French Open and fly home. You know, it was the first Grand Slam I had missed. I got home. First thing, I called Corina . . . It’s amazing how it puts things in perspective.”

Instead of staying home in Laguna Beach, Davenport boarded another plane and flew to Florida to watch the French Open on TV with Morariu.

Here, Davenport is wearing a necklace with a “C” medallion for Corina.

“I’ve tried to look at my career now as the second part [of my life] and have a much happier outlook about things, not get so down when things don’t go your way,” Davenport said.

“Just remember it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be out here playing, to try to enjoy everything more and more.”

Randy Harvey can be reached at randy.harvey@latimes.com.

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Featured Matches

Today at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Play begins on Center Court and Court 1 at 5 a.m. PDT; all other courts 4 a.m.):

CENTER COURT

* Jennifer Capriati (4) vs. Tatiana Panova (32), Russia

* Sjeng Schalken (26), Netherlands, vs. Tim Henman (6), Britain

COURT 1

* Andy Roddick vs. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia

* Pete Sampras (1) vs. Sargis Sargsian, Armenia

* Lisa Raymond (28) vs. Justine Henin (8), Belgium

COURT 2

* Emmanuelle Gagliardi, Switzerland, vs. Serena Williams (5)