STANFORD, July 19: Lindsay Davenport beat Venus Williams for the first time in three and a half years to win her third Bank of the West Classic title on Sunday.
Second seed Davenport beat top-seeded Williams, who had also previously won the title twice, 7-6 5-7 7-6 in two hours and 53 minutes.
Davenport played an aggressive and gutsy match, going for big second serves, firing her returns and consistently pounding Williams's forehand. It was the fifth-ranked Davenport's first victory over Williams since she beat her at Linz in 2000 and ended a run of six losses to her fellow American.
Williams still maintains a 12-11 edge in their rivalry. In a hard-fought contest played in searing heat, the two old rivals stood toe to toe in a first set slugfest that saw the 28-year-old Davenport fight off multiple break points and relentlessly attack her foe to gain the advantage.
Even though Davenport took a medical timeout after she broke Williams back to 3-4 to treat a sore left wrist, the three-times grand slam winner did not lose her stride.
She continued to blitz Williams's weaker forehand side and finally broke it down in the tiebreaker, when Williams committed six forehand unforced errors to lose it 7-4. But four-times grand slam champion Williams would not quit in the second set and came back from a 1-3 deficit to briefly seize control of the match.
She finally gained control of her forehand, served with a variety and authority and simply outran her foe. She broke Davenport back to 2-3 when her opponent missed an easy volley and then broke her to 6-5 when Davenport committed only her second double fault. Williams held at love to win the set.
After playing nearly two hours in the heat, it appeared that Davenport might wilt in the third set, but she continued to fight for every point. The two players traded breaks early in the set but then upped the level of their service games.
Williams held a break point at 5-5, but Davenport responded by lacing a forehand crosscourt winner and eventually held to 6-5. In the tiebreaker, Williams's forehand failed her once again.
At 3-3, Davenport cracked a forehand down the line passing shot and never looked back, winning the match when Williams pulled a backhand wide. Williams, who committed 73 unforced errors, was disappointed with the loss.
HAAS WINS TITLE
NEW YORK: Tommy Haas lifted his second trophy of 2004 with a 7-6 6-4 victory over fellow German Nicolas Kiefer in the Mercedes-Benz Cup final in Los Angeles on Sunday. Former world number two Haas cam from 3-1 down in the opening set and 5-1 down in tiebreak, saving a match point before taking it 8-6.
Haas broke Kiefer, who had nice aces but five double faults in the match, in the third game of the second set. It was Haas's second win of the year after the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Houston in April, and seventh overall.
Haas came back this year after missing 16 months because of two shoulder operations. Both Germans, who had never met in a final before and are now 2-2, will represent their country at the Olympic Games in Athens next month. -Reuters
