Davenport Strolls Through Classic Final
Sun Herald
Sunday January 6, 2008
THE 4am nappy-changing travails of motherhood would, you could imagine, cause much more stress for Lindsay Davenport than an anti-climactic ASB Classic final.
Having cruised through the week as anonymously as any former world No.1 could, dropping just a single set as everyone else focused on the fortunes of New Zealand teenager Marina Erakovic, Davenport took just 51 minutes yesterday to dispose of an erratic, overwhelmed Aravane Rezai, ranked 89 places below Davenport's career high.The post-natal comeback of Davenport, who brought her baby son Jagger on court for her muted celebrations, now stands at four tournaments for three victories, as she pronounced herself "ecstatic . . . this is the way I would have wanted it".She didn't look that excited. She had been patient, precise and placid as she glided through to a 6-2, 6-2 win, and afterwards spoke of "neutralising" Rezai's powerful but error-prone game.Erakovic, the tournament darling, had showed a reasonable read of her opponents when she said on Friday this game was "going to be interesting . . . actually, I am not sure if it is going to be interesting. Davenport plays pretty much the same game as Rezai, and I think Davenport plays it much better".Rezai must not have listened."I was a little bit nervous because Lindsay Davenport was my opponent, and I said, 'no I don't need to be nervous, I have to play my match and fight', but no, it doesn't happen," she said.In the doubles final, Mariya Koryttseva and Lilia Osterloh beat Martina Mullerand Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3, 6-4.
© 2008 Sun Herald
