Davenport’s Out, Maybe for Good

Maybe there was a reason Lindsay Davenport walked onto Centre Court twice Tuesday at Wimbledon, receiving the rare benefit of applause repeated after an hour-long rain delay had interrupted her match against Venus Williams.

That could have been her retirement present from the All England Club. And if, indeed, it was the last time she played singles here, that would be the way she wanted it, an unannounced farewell. Not long after the fourth-seeded Williams had beaten No. 5 Davenport, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, in the quarterfinals, Davenport said she had doubts about returning. She hasn’t decided, though, and expects to finish the season, the inflamed nerve in the toe of her left foot permitting.

“It definitely ran through my mind ... that this could be my last singles match out there,” said Davenport, adding that she’d thought about it when she walked out on the court both times, taking in the sustained applause.

The 1999 Wimbledon champion is clear about one thing: There will be no hanging around as a perpetual quarterfinalist or fourth-round loser at the Slams.

“I felt it for a number of months,” said Davenport, who was married before the French Open. “I don’t want to be a player who retires two, three times and comes back. I don’t want a farewell tour.”

What is so bad about a long goodbye?

“It’s stupid,” she said, laughing.

For the second straight day, the quarterfinals proceeded according to form. Still, the women finally produced some competitive, dramatic matches. Davenport, for instance, won a set from Williams for the first time in two years.

Later, defending champion Serena Williams beat No. 8 Jennifer Capriati, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, in 1 hour 39 minutes, hitting seven aces and double-faulting twice. They have played 13 times, and 10 of those matches have gone three sets. Capriati has lost to Serena eight consecutive times since beating her in the Wimbledon quarterfinals two years ago.

“I just made too many errors,” Williams said. “I don’t know why. I always come out this way against Jennifer. It was definitely high quality. Jennifer came out off the bat, just blowing everything away.”

In the semifinals, it will be the Williamses against the Belgians. Venus will play No. 2 Kim Clijsters, who beat Silvia Farina Elia of Italy, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. And Serena will play No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne. Henin-Hardenne beat 18-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-2, 6-2.

Though Henin-Hardenne has received more of the attention, thanks to her breakthrough Slam victory in the French Open, Clijsters has a shot at becoming No. 1, should Serena falter.

“I really don’t want to think about that at the moment,” said Clijsters, who suffered a bee sting at 5-4 in the first set. “If it happens, of course, that would be great.”

Davenport, 27, was once No. 1. She won three Slam events and was used to being in the top three. Injuries, the Williamses and the Belgians have put those things out of reach lately.

For longtime Davenport followers, the way she hit the ball in the second set was reminiscent of her days as a contender. Even she, though, does not know if there is another Slam singles title for her. “Time’s running out,” she said. “I don’t know how many more [Slam events] I’ll be playing in to know that.”

She wasn’t announcing her retirement, though.

“I think when Steffi [Graf] came in here that year [1999], she was absolutely adamant that this was it, and she was quitting soon after,” Davenport said. “I don’t know, that’s different from where I’ve been in the past. It’s not saying that, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ It’s just saying I’m not sure anymore.”

Foot surgery at the end of the season only adds to the uncertainty.

Fed Cup apparently is not in her future because of a conflict with captain Billie Jean King. Davenport had asked to arrive for the Fed Cup a day late -- she would still have been there well before the match against Italy in Washington, D.C. -- and was told not to bother coming at all. Davenport, who’d asked for the delay because her mother was having knee surgery, was notified of the decision by a two-line e-mail, she said.

“I was pretty [irritated] in the way it was handled,” Davenport added.

“I was more disappointed in the amount of years I’ve put into the Fed Cup and how many ties I’ve put in and how many times I’ve asked for special favors, which is about zero, and one that I think is pretty understandable.”

Later, in the hallway behind the interview room, she said she wouldn’t play if King called her to fill in against Italy at the last minute. The quarterfinal vs. Italy is the week after Wimbledon.