Davenport, Not Rafter, Sidelined

Rumors have a way of flying the day before a Grand Slam tournament, creating a pebble-in-the-pond effect. A casual comment in the players’ lounge becomes a headline within half an hour.

On Sunday afternoon, Cecil Mamiit was talking about his relative good fortune, gaining a main-draw spot after losing in the final round of qualifying. He was the first alternate and moved up after Karol Kucera withdrew because of a wrist injury. Mamiit then mentioned he would have made it anyway because Patrick Rafter pulled out.

Rafter withdrawing from the French Open is notable in the United States because of his marquee value and position as the eighth-seeded player. In his native Australia, it is top-of-the-page news. That created a moment or two of anxiety because of imminent deadlines in Melbourne.

Mamiit, at least for the moment, was incorrect. Rafter had not withdrawn, and his chiropractor said there was a 70%-80% chance he will play Tuesday. Crisis averted.

Meanwhile, more news spread through Roland Garros. Third-seeded Lindsay Davenport was the latest player to pull out on the injury-riddled women’s side. This time, rumor was fact.

Davenport, sidelined eight weeks because of a right knee bone bruise, aggravated the injury at practice against Barbara Schett of Austria Sunday morning. A teary-eyed Davenport was examined by the WTA’s medical staff and decided to withdraw, making it the first time she has missed a Grand Slam event since Wimbledon in 1992. Her streak was 34 consecutive Grand Slams.

“Everything was going well until my practice this morning, when the pain returned unexpectedly,” said Davenport, who has won every Grand Slam except the French Open. “I really thought my knee was ready and that I was going to be able to play. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I decided to follow the advice of the medical staff not to play.”

Her coach, Robert Van’t Hof, said she already has had three MRI exams and that the injury simply needs time to heal. “It flared up again,” he said. “She said she got up Sunday and felt it, and when she walked up the stairs at Roland Garros it got worse and worse.”

Davenport will return home to be examined by her doctor, and there is a reasonable chance she could miss Wimbledon. She has reached the final the last two years there, winning in 1999 and losing to Venus Williams last year. Davenport nearly did not come to Paris but gave it a try because she thought clay would be easier on her knee than grass. Last year, she lost in the first round in Paris, hampered by a bad back.

The women have been beset by injuries in 2001, and five of the top 22 in the world are out: Davenport, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova, defending champion Mary Pierce and Chanda Rubin.

But it was Davenport’s departure that created a last-minute ripple in the tournament.

Venus Williams, who plays Schett today in the first round, may have been the biggest winner. Instead of facing Amelie Mauresmo of France--the winner of four tournaments this year--in the quarterfinals, she would not play her until the semifinals. Mauresmo became the fifth-seeded player and was put in the same quarter as No. 7 Elena Dementieva of Russia, No. 12 Kim Clijsters of Belgium and No. 15 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia.

Which leads to the biggest loser after all the changes: Dokic. Dokic, the Italian Open champion, had been in a weaker quarter with the ailing and rusty Davenport, an out-of-form Dementieva and Clijsters, who struggles mightily on clay.

Now Dokic must deal with Mauresmo in the fourth round. She beat her in the Italian Open final, but the Frenchwoman will be more energized and boosted by the crowd support on her home turf.

France’s Sandrine Testud, becoming the 17th-seeded player, was moved to the other half of the draw, away from a possible third-round match against Venus Williams. Anca Barna of Germany, the lucky loser, moved into Testud’s old spot.

Questions, anyone?

For the Williams sisters, however, the main thing was that they remained on opposite sides of the draw. Venus has won a clay-court title in 2001, but Serena’s form is harder to evaluate. She has played once on clay since losing to Mary Joe Fernandez in the third round two years ago. The lone match was last year and Serena didn’t even finish, retiring to Paola Suarez of Argentina at Amelia Island, Fla., in the third set.

There have been four different winners the last four French Opens and a fifth is inevitable. There are no former French champions among the top 10 seeded players. Top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland has reached the final twice in Paris and has a relatively clear path until the semifinals.

For her, almost as important, the brief experiment of playing without her mother’s coaching assistance ended. Hingis didn’t get very far without Melanie Molitor and realized it might be a too early to take the training wheels off.

The art of prognostication is a bit easier on the men’s side, especially since top players aren’t dropping off daily. Three French champions are among the top seven seeded players--Kuerten, Andre Agassi (No. 3) and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (No. 7) of Russia.

Kuerten has the savvy and big-match experience--two French titles--to maneuver through the ups and downs of seven grueling matches on clay.

The clay road for the U.S. trio of Pete Sampras, Agassi and 18-year-old Andy Roddick is murkier. Agassi is 1-3 on clay this year and remains wildly unpredictable.

Sampras, who lost in the first round last year here to Mark Philippoussis in five sets, looked more comfortable on clay last week in Dusseldorf and may have caught a break in the first round, playing French qualifier Cedric Kauffmann. Roddick will make his French Open debut today against Australian Scott Draper.