The Normal Girl Who Could Go To The Dogs Without A Crazy Life
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 14, 2005
Retirement might be scary for Lindsay Davenport if it wasn't for her family plans. By Jessica Halloran.
So what that she'd won two Porsches, a bundle of cash and reclaimed the No.1 ranking - in the end Lindsay Davenport felt empty. The southern Californian girl, who has a penchant for crosswords and a quiet life, wasn't happy with her performance last year. She won seven titles in 2004, taking her to ninth place on the WTA all-time career singles titles list. What she really wanted was another grand slam."It was one of the most empty years when the year ended," Davenport said. "I felt pretty much no joy ending the year [number] one. Obviously it was a great accomplishment, but I really wanted to win a slam. I had great opportunities at both Wimbledon and at the US Open. I was just kinda a little bit down about that when it was all said and done." Davenport has dredged herself up from the tennis doldrums. This week she determinedly voiced her aim to win another grand slam before she quits - most likely at the end of this year. It is hard to walk away when you feel you can accomplish another major, the 28-year-old said. (She already has Australian, Wimbledon and US titles to her name.) "It would be great [to win the US Open], I'd love to win another grand slam, especially being married and my husband being such a great help for me, it would be fun," said Davenport, who was yesterday forced to withdraw from the Medibank International because of illness. "But you know, I'd take the Australian Open." Last season she toyed with retirement but she now knows it's useless having a retirement date pencilled in. "I have learnt it's something you really can't prepare for in terms of having a timetable," she said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I feel like last year would turn out the way it did, I was pretty sure it was all done. Then looked what happened."I don't have any plans this year. I could play till March, I could play to November, I don't really know what is going to happen. If I stay healthy then I hope to be around for a while." But the end is close and she harbours a slight feeling of dread. So what will she do when it's over? Davenport regularly sits down with husband Jon Leach, an investment banker, and discusses life after tennis. "It's funny, we talk about it so much. I do think it's a life-changing event, I'm very conscious that it's going to be a little bit sad," she admitted. "I'm very conscious that when you wake up after having so much excitement and so much to do it will be weird to wake up and not have so much to do. We'd like to have kids right away, if that's lucky enough to happen." Davenport wants "a lot" of kids. "But I'll see how we are doing after one," she smiled.Davenport has that wholesome kind of character that has fans and peers alike breezing the words "she's lovely", "she's friendly" and mostly "she's so normal".The statuesque, 189 centimetre player's sweet image is her trademark. Enter her name into an internet search engine and loyal fan sites appear - including one featuring "famous tall women". Enter Maria Sharapova's name and it finds sites screaming "sexy photos", "hot modelling pics!" and "extreme on-court images". Davenport has never promoted herself like the young things of the WTA often do - it's not for her.After a provocative promotional image for the WTA of Sharapova was emblazoned on a LA billboards last year, Davenport said she wouldn't do it and nor would she let her daughter be promoted like that, either.She believes the tour girls vamp it up but she doesn't judge those who flaunt their stuff. "Every player has their own path they choose to go down ... certainly what some players do isn't what I would choose to do," she said. "[But] that's the beauty of an individual sport. You are able to express yourself however you want to express it. I think Maria is great for the game and so is Serena [Williams]. People give them a lot of flak [but] at the end they are being themselves and they are doing what they want to do. I have a lot of respect for that."We [the tour] go through stages, with [Anna] Kournikova it was played up a bit, then it wasn't so much for a bit, then again we have a player that can now sell that [glamour]. So she [Sharapova] should take advantage of that. And ultimately it is up to her and the endorsers about how much they want to play it up." Back on the court, she said the game is suffering with so many talented players sidelined by injury. "I think we have the opportunity to be the most interesting era that we've had, but we just can't get all the players healthy at the same time. It's been quite a while since we've been able to do that," she said. "You want to see Venus [Williams], Serena, Jennifer [Capriati], Kim [Clijsters] and Justine [Henin-Hardenne] at 100 per cent, not playing 50 to 75 or not playing. Hopefully that happens in another three to four months."Like every athlete it depends on how much more Davenport's body can take before she drops her racquet. The ligaments in her right knee are particularly worn. She will require surgery to fix them one day. When her playing career is done, she says she will focus on family. She'll have time to relax, play cards with her husband, hang out with her 11 nieces and nephews that live close by at Laguna Beach - oh, and her two dogs will get more attention, too.
© 2005 Sydney Morning Herald
