Lindsay Davenport won her third title in four events since her comeback to tournament play when she beat France's Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-2 in the ASB Classic final yesterday.
Davenport improved to 18-1 in singles since her return from the birth in June of her first child.
Her son, Jagger, was courtside yesterday for his mother's victory, held by his nanny, but seemed nonplussed by the occasion and cried when first introduced to the crowd.
PHOTO: AP
He was quickly calmed by Davenport and took an eager interest in proceedings, including the presentation of the US$22,000 winner's check.
The win followed Davenport's tournament victories in Bali -- after a 51-week absence from the tour -- and Quebec City and her semi-finals appearance in Beijing. The Auckland title was her 54th, moving her ahead of Monica Seles and into eighth place on the all-time list of WTA tournament winners.
Davenport won the first set yesterday in 25 minutes, breaking Rezai in the second and eighth games and the second in 34 minutes, breaking in the fourth and eighth.
In winning, Davenport improved her percentage of wins in singles to 79.4 per cent -- 792 wins in 918 matches -- which is the best percentage in WTA history.
"I came here with the goal of winning this tournament and, being unseeded, you never know how the draw turns out," she said. "But I was happy with the way I was able to play well at times, not perfectly at others, but really come through the tournament and just lose the one set."
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
RSS