No. 1 Favours Later Date
The Age
Tuesday January 25, 2005
LINDSAY Davenport believes a February or March start to the Australian Open would help more players bring their best tennis to Melbourne.
After moving through to the quarter-finals yesterday with a straight-sets win over Karolina Sprem, the world No. 1 said fans would see better tennis if players had six or seven weeks at the start of the year to work themselves into ultimate form and fitness."I think it would be hard to expect all the top players to be at their very best at this tournament," Davenport said. "It's, for me, a shame that this grand slam is so early in the year. I don't think it allows the best tennis to come out of some of the players."The 28-year-old, whose most recent major victory came at the 2000 Australian Open, said late February was an ideal time for the Open, which will start one week later from 2007, to be staged."It's just that you ideally would like to play a few more weeks before you hit a grand slam, not just the first or second tournament of the year," Davenport said. "We're used to it. It hasn't been any different my whole career. But I just think that the players aren't going to be as sharp as maybe they are in the latter three slams."Davenport said her victory yesterday marked a dramatic improvement from the first week of the tournament."I know for me I wasn't expecting to be flawless in my first few rounds, and to lose a set wasn't that big a surprise," she said. "I thought I might have a few tough matches. I'm glad I've been able to play my way and play a little better as the tournament's gone forward."
© 2005 The Age
