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Davenport Makes Winning Return To Action In Bali

September 23, 2007 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Sacramento Capitals News Release


The Capitals frequent marquee player Lindsay Davenport capped a stunning return to action on September 16, as she won the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic singles title in Bali, Indonesia. Davenport gave birth to her first child in June, and merely three months later, she completed an unlikely comeback title run in her defeat of Daniela Hantuchova in a three set final.

With the exception of a World TeamTennis match in July for the Sacramento Capitals and a doubles event in New Haven in August, Davenport had not played a single pro event since September 2006. With a ranking of No.234, few thought her a threat at all in Bali, especially given the marquee names populating the Tier III draw. But she went through the two top guns, namely No.1 seed Jelena Jankovic and No.2 seed Hantuchova, to get to the title, which was the 52nd of her career.

"It's just overwhelming and exciting," Davenport said. "I certainly exceeded my expectations in how I'd play. I think a lot of it just had to do with being excited to be back out there and being fresh to play. But I would have never expected this to happen so soon, so I'm a little bit in shock."

Davenport's quarterfinal win over Jankovic was the biggest surprise in terms of ranking, as she regrouped after dropping the first four games of the match to beat the world No.3 for the fourth time in four career meetings, 64 26 62.

"Lindsay was playing really well, and was returning unbelievably; I just couldn't do anything," Jankovic stated. "The way she is serving, each opportunity you get you have to take it. She's playing great."

Davenport's serve got her out of trouble several times against Hantuchova in the final. Hantuchova had break point for 5-3 in the first set but Davenport erased it; after dropping her serve she also had 0-30 with Davenport serving up 5-4, but the American again got out of trouble. The Slovak managed to get the second set under her belt but the Davenport train got back on course, and was in complete control of the third set for a resonant 64 36 62 title victory.

"I finally got a lot of confidence, and was able to break her to go up 3-1 in the third," Davenport said. "She made a couple of errors and I hadn't broken her in so long - that gave me a lot of confidence and momentum. That relaxed me a bit more in my service games and I was able to make more first serves."

"I think I used the right tactics but it didn't work out," Hantuchova stated. "All the credit to her and how she was playing. She was serving great. Maybe I was trying for too much and that's where the errors started coming in. But against a player like that, you can't really afford to do that."

Davenport is now the lowest-ranked player to capture a title this season and the fourth-lowest in history. Her triumph is reminiscent of fellow greats Monica Seles and Serena Williams, who both made title runs immediately after returning from lengthy lay-offs (at 1995 Toronto and 2004 Miami, respectively).

"It's my first tournament back and I was unsure how I would respond physically. It's crazy. Maybe the pregnancy gave me some magical powers, I don't know. I was definitely getting tired there in the second set but was able to re-group and get a second or third wind for that third set. That was important. I don't know exactly where that comes from, but I definitely felt a little fresher in the third."

The week clearly belonged to Davenport, whose comeback form suggested it wouldn't be too long before she is again challenging for the biggest prizes.

"I hope to play Australia at the start of next year but besides that I don't know what to expect. But I'm hopeful to play as much as I can next year."

--courtesy of WTA Tour

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