article

Lindsay Davenport
Date of birth: 8 June, 1976
Place of birth: Palos Verdes, USA
Country: United States
Residence: Laguna Beach, USA
Height: 6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Weight: 175 lb. (79 kg)
Plays: Right
Turned pro: 1993
Highest singles ranking: No. 1 (first: 12 October, 1998);
latest: 23 January, 2006)
Singles titles: 51
Highest doubles ranking No. 1 (20 October, 1997)
Doubles titles: 35
Career prize money: *]21,549,902 (2nd in all-time ranking)
Grand Slam Record
Singles Titles: 3
Australian Open W (2000)
F (2005)
French Open SF (1998)
Wimbledon W (1999)
F (2000, 2005)
U.S. Open W (1998)
F (2000)
Lindsay Ann Davenport (born June 8, 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is an American professional female tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam tournaments: the 1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon, and the 2000 Australian Open. She also won the Olympic gold medal in 1996. Davenport was ranked as a #1 women singles and doubles player several times between 1998 and 2001, and twice again in 2004. She was ranked number one throughout most of the 2005 season, being briefly overtaken by Maria Sharapova for two weeks before the US Open. She was the year-end #1 player in 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005. Only 3 other women have finished number 1 at least four times since the computer singles ranking was established in 1975; Steffi Graf (eight times), Martina Navratilova (seven) and Chris Evert (six). Her father, Wink Davenport, was a member of the US Olympic volleyball team in 1968.

She announced at the end of the 2005 season that she will not play as many events in 2006. As a result of this schedule, and her inactivity due to a lower back injury, her ranking has fallen to #10. In May 2006, Davenport committed to a heavy summer schedule, commiting to play tournaments in Wimbledon, Stanford, Los Angeles, Carlsbad, New Haven, the US Open, Bali and Shanghai. By commiting to these tournaments, Davenport effectively abandoned her scheduling plan of early in the season.

Playing Style

Her game is built largely around her groundstrokes, which are considered to be among the most powerful and cleanly-struck in the history of women's tennis. Lack of court speed is perhaps her greatest weakness, mainly because of her size; at slightly over 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m), she is the tallest woman ever to win a Grand Slam. However, she has worked to overcome this by losing weight, overhauling her conditioning program, and becoming mentally stronger. She is an advocate for the mental game, as evidenced by her comments on the cover of "Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game."

Reputation

She has a reputation amongst the tennis press, and thus much of the tennis-watching public, of being thoughtful, polite, and balanced, unlike some of her contemporaries. She is also known among fans and subject experts to be a good autograph signer. Although she had some unpolite remarkables on Amélie Mauresmo's playing style after the final at the 1999 Australian Open. Her relative lack of mainstream glamour and "star power" has resulted in less attention being paid her than some contemporaries with inferior results (see Anna Kournikova).

Personal life

Davenport married investment banker and former All-American footballer Jon Leach, brother of tennis player Rick Leach, in 2003.

Her sisters Leiann and Shannon also reside in Southern California. Her aunt, uncle, and cousins (Jessica and Amanda Jeberjahn) live in San Luis Obispo.

Career

Lindsay had an excellent year in 2004. She won a tour-high seven titles including four straight during the summer (Stanford, Los Angeles, San Diego and Cincinnati), and posted the most match wins on the WTA with 63. She finished the year ranked Number 1 for the third time in her career.

Her success continued into 2005 when she made her first Grand Slam final, at the Australian Open, since the US Open in 2000. Unfortunately for Davenport, she faded away from a set-and-a-break lead in the final, falling to Serena Williams in a 3-setter.

At a tournament in Indian Wells, California in March, Davenport made history by defeating world number three Maria Sharapova 6-0 6-0. It marked the first time that a player ranked in the top three had ever been "shut out" on the WTA Tour, and was also the first time Sharapova had ever lost 0-6 0-6.

Davenport bypassed the European clay-court warm-up season and went to the French Open without having played a professional competitive match for some weeks. She confounded expectations with a run through to the quarter-finals on her least favourite surface after four tough three-set matches, including a thrilling come-from-behind win against Kim Clijsters. Davenport lost to eventual runner-up Mary Pierce but returned for Wimbledon as the top seed.

She easily made it to the fourth round, where she was tested by Kim Clijsters again, but she came through in three sets to win her second successive match against the rejuvenated Belgian. Davenport then sailed to the semi-finals, where her match against Amélie Mauresmo was interrupted by rain and was completed over the course of two days. Davenport eventually defeated Mauresmo 6-7 7-6 6-4 and faced 14th seeded Venus Williams in an all-American final. The thrilling epic found Davenport leading most of the way including holding one match point at 5-4 final set.

Williams went on to win 4-6 7-6 9-7 in the longest and possibly one of the most dramatic Wimbledon finals in history. In that match, Davenport sustained a serious back injury while leading 4-2 40-15 in the final set. The injury forced her to withdraw from Fed Cup competition. Davenport returned to the tour in Palo Alto, California. After reinjuring her back in a warmup just hours before her match, Davenport retired while trailing 5-0 in the first set. This back injury then forced her to withdraw from other hardcourt events in Carlsbad and Los Angeles.

Davenport returned to the WTA Tour in August, winning her comeback tournament in New Haven, Connecticut without dropping a set. Davenport went on to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open, where she held a match point on Elena Dementieva before falling 7-6 (6) in the third set. Davenport lost the #1 ranking following the event.

After the upsetting loss at the US Open, Davenport went on a tear during the fall season. She captured title in Bali without dropping a set, and subsequently qualified for the WTA Tour Championships. She then won the title in Filderstadt, Germany, defeating Amélie Mauresmo in the final for the second year in a row. The win made her only the tenth woman ever to win 50 career WTA singles titles.

In Zurich, on October 20, 2005, Davenport defeated Daniela Hantuchova 3-6 7-5 6-2, saving two match points. By winning the match, Davenport was assured of recapturing the World No.1 ranking from Maria Sharapova the following week. In subsequent matches she inched past Francesca Schiavone 6-4 4-6 6-4 and defeated seventh seed Anastasia Myskina 6-0 6-4 to reach her 6th Zurich final in as many visits and set up a rematch of the 2002 final with Swiss Patty Schnyder, which she had lost in a close encounter. She overcame the sixth seed 7-6(5) 6-3 for her fourth title at Zurich and her sixth title of 2005, next only to Kim Clijsters' nine. It was also the first time Davenport had saved match points en route to a victory since the 1999 US Open. The Zurich Open victory leaves her with 11 Tier I titles, the most among active players.

She finished a semifinalist at the prestigious WTA Tour year-ending Championships - losing a tight match to Mary Pierce 7-6 7-6 - which ensured that she finished the year ranked No.1. 2005 was the fourth time in her career that Davenport ended the year ranked No.1. This allows Davenport join Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Monica Seles as the only female players to end a season World No. 1 four times. She is also the #2 ranked player in Open Era history in terms of career prize money won.

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 29th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.

On February 22nd, 2006 Davenport became just the 8th woman in WTA history to win 700 singles matches. She did so in style by handing out her fourth career "double bagel", as she defeated Elena Likhovtseva 6-0, 6-0 in the 2nd Round of the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open.

Davenport has been absent from the court for two months after a back injury since she was defeated in the 4th round of Indian Wells by Martina Hingis 3-6 6-1 2-6. In May 2006, Davenport announced that she would be bypassing the entire clay court season, including The French Open at the end of the month.

On June 19, 2006 Davenport withdrew from the 2006 Wimbledon Championships due to a back injury. Her ranking has now fallen to #10. Her withdrawal from Stanford also brings about questions of where her season is going and the severity of her back injury.

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (3)

Martina Hingis||6-3, 7-5 Steffi Graf || 6-4, 7-5 Martina Hingis ||6-1, 7-5
'''Year '''Championship '''Opponent in Final '''Score in Final

Runner-ups (4)

Venus Williams || 3-6, 6-7 Venus Williams || 4-6, 5-7 Serena Williams || 6-2, 3-6, 0-6 Venus Williams || 6-4, 6-7, 7-9
'''Year '''Championship '''Opponent in Final '''Score in Final

Titles (86)

Singles (51)

Legend
Grand Slam (3)
WTA Championships (1)
Olympic Gold (1)
Tier I Event (11)
WTA Tour (34)
Titles by Surface
Hard (30)
Clay (8)
Grass (2)
Carpet (11)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1993-05-17 Lucerne, Switzerland Clay Nicole Bradtke (Australia) 6-1 4-6 6-2
2. 1994-01-03 Brisbane, Australia Hard Florencia Labat (Argentina) 6-1 2-6 6-3
3. 1994-05-16 Lucerne, Switzerland Clay Lisa Raymond (USA) 7-63 6-4
4. 1995-05-22 Strasbourg, France Clay Kimiko Date (Japan) 3-6 6-1 6-2
5. 1996-05-20 Strasbourg, France Clay Barbara Paulus (Austria) 6-3 7-66
6. 1996-07-22 The Olympics, Atlanta, USA Hard Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (Spain) 7-66 6-2
7. 1996-08-12 Los Angeles, USA Hard Anke Huber (Germany) 6-2 6-3
8. 1997-02-17 Oklahoma City, USA Hard Lisa Raymond (USA) 6-4 6-2
9. 1997-03-03 Indian Wells, USA Hard Irina Spirlea (Romania) 6-2 6-1
10. 1997-04-07 Amelia Island, USA Clay Mary Pierce (France) 6-2 6-3
11. 1997-08-18 Atlanta, USA Hard Sandrine Testud (France) 6-4 6-1
12. 1997-10-13 Zurich, Switzerland Carpet Nathalie Tauziat (France) 7-63 7-5
13. 1997-11-03 Chicago, USA Carpet Nathalie Tauziat (France) 6-0 7-5
14. 1998-02-02 Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan Carpet Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-3 6-3
15. 1998-07-27 Stanford, USA Hard Venus Williams (USA) 6-4 5-7 6-4
16. 1998-08-03 San Diego, USA Hard Mary Pierce (France) 6-3 6-1
17. 1998-08-10 Los Angeles, USA Hard Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 4-6 6-4 6-3
18. 1998-08-31 US Open, New York, USA Hard Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-3 7-5
19. 1998-10-12 Zurich, Switzerland Carpet Venus Williams (USA) 7-5 6-3
20. 1999-01-11 Sydney, Australia Hard Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-4 6-3
21. 1999-05-17 Madrid, Spain Clay Paola Suarez (Argentina) 6-1 6-3
22. 1999-06-21 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain Grass Steffi Graf (Germany) 6-4 7-5
23. 1999-07-26 Stanford, USA Hard Venus Williams (USA) 7-61 6-2
24. 1999-09-20 Tokyo (Princess), Japan Hard Monica Seles (USA) 7-5 7-61
25. 1999-11-08 Philadelphia, USA Carpet Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-3 6-4
26. 1999-11-15 Chase Championships, New York, USA Carpet Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-4 6-2
27. 2000-01-17 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-1 7-5
28. 2000-03-06 Indian Wells, USA Hard Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 4-6 6-4 6-0
29. 2000-10-16 Linz, Austria Carpet Venus Williams (USA) 6-4 3-6 6-2
30. 2000-11-06 Philadelphia, USA Carpet Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 7-67 6-4
31. 2001-01-29 Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan Carpet Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-74 6-4 6-2
32. 2001-02-26 Scottsdale, USA Hard Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) 6-2 6-3
33. 2001-06-18 Eastbourne, Great Britain Grass Magui Serna (Spain) 6-2 6-0
34. 2001-08-06 Los Angeles, USA Hard Monica Seles (USA) 6-3 7-5
35. 2001-10-08 Filderstadt, Germany Hard Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 7-5 6-4
36. 2001-10-15 Zurich, Switzerland Hard Jelena Dokic (Serbia & Montenegro) 6-3 6-1
37. 2001-10-22 Linz, Austria Hard Jelena Dokic (Serbia & Montenegro) 6-4 6-1
38. 2003-01-27 Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan Carpet Monica Seles (USA) 6-76 6-1 6-2
39. 2004-02-02 Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan Carpet Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 6-4 6-1
40. 2004-04-05 Amelia Island, USA Clay Amélie Mauresmo (France) 6-4 6-4
41. 2004-07-12 Stanford, USA Hard Venus Williams (USA) 7-64 5-7 7-64
42. 2004-07-19 Los Angeles, USA Hard Serena Williams (USA) 6-1 6-3
43. 2004-07-26 San Diego, USA Hard Anastasia Myskina (Russia) 6-1 6-1
44. 2004-08-16 Cincinnati, USA Hard Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 6-3 6-2
45. 2004-10-04 Filderstadt, Germany Hard Amélie Mauresmo (France) 6-2 retired
46. 2005-03-05 Dubai, UAE Hard Jelena Janković (Serbia and Montenegro) 6-4 3-6 6-4
47. 2005-04-04 Amelia Island, USA Clay Silvia Farina Elia (Italy) 7-5 7-5
48. 2005-08-20 New Haven, USA Hard Amélie Mauresmo (France) 6-4 6-4
49. 2005-09-13 Bali, Indonesia Hard Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-2 6-4
50. 2005-10-03 Filderstadt, Germany Hard Amélie Mauresmo (France) 6-2 6-4
51. 2005-10-23 Zurich, Switzerland Hard Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 7-65 6-3

Performance Timeline

Tournament 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Australian Open QF F QF 4r - SF
French Open - QF 4r 4r - -
Wimbledon - F SF QF - SF
U.S. Open QF SF SF SF QF
Grand Slam Win-Loss 4-1 20-4 17-4 15-4 5-1 14-3
WTA Tour Championships SF RR - 1r F
Tokyo - F W W - W
Indian Wells 4r F F F - QF
Miami - - - 4r - QF
Charleston - QF QF SF - -
Berlin - - - - - -
Rome - - - - - -
San Diego1 - W SF SF SF
Montreal/Toronto - - - - -
Moscow - SF - F -
Zurich W - - F W
Tournaments played 3 16 17 16 9 17
Finals reached 10 9 6 4 11
Tournaments Won '''6 '''7 '''1 '''0 '''7
Hardcourt Win-Loss 6-2 38-6 39-4 29-10 18-6 49-8
Clay Win-Loss - 11-2 13-3 10-3 - -
Grass Win-Loss - 6-1 5-1 4-2 - 9-1
Carpet Win-Loss 2-1 3-1 6-1 4-0 6-3 4-0
Overall Win-Loss '''8-3 '''58-10 '''63-9 '''47-15 '''24-9 '''62-9
Year End Ranking '''1 '''1 '''5 '''12 '''1

Tournament 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 Career
Australian Open W SF SF 4r 4r QF QF 3r - - 1
French Open 1r QF SF 4r QF 4r 3r 1r - - 0
Wimbledon F W QF 2r 2r 4r QF 3r - - 1
U.S. Open F SF W SF 4r 2r 3r 4r 2r 1r 1
Grand Slam Win-Loss 19-3 21-3 21-3 12-4 11-4 11-4 12-4 7-4 1-1 0-1 199-48
WTA Tour Championships 1r W F 1r QF 1r F - - - 1
Tokyo - QF W QF QF F - - - - '''4
Indian Wells W 2r F W SF QF SF QF - - '''2
Miami F QF QF 4r SF 4r SF 2r 2r - '''0
Charleston - - QF QF - - QF 2r - - '''0
Berlin - - 3r 2r - - - - - - '''0
Rome 3r - - - - - - - - - '''0
San Diego1 2r SF W - - - QF - - - '''2
Montreal/Toronto 3r - - QF - - - - - - '''0
Moscow - - - - - - - - - - '''0
Zurich F - W W - - - - - - '''4
Tournaments played 19 19 21 22 18 15 17 16 11 3 239
Finals reached 12 8 10 8 4 3 3 1 0 0 89
Tournaments Won '''4 '''7 '''6 '''6 '''3 '''1 '''2 '''1 '''0 '''0 '''51
Hardcourt Win-Loss 41-8 34-7 38-8 32-8 29-6 15-8 21-5 23-8 6-6 3-3 421-103
Clay Win-Loss 1-1 9-2 11-4 10-4 9-1 8-1 12-4 8-3 8-5 - 110-33
Grass Win-Loss 7-2 7-0 4-1 1-1 2-2 3-1 4-1 2-2 0-1 - 54-16
Carpet Win-Loss 8-1 9-1 14-2 14-3 7-6 5-3 7-4 3-2 - - 92-28
Overall Win-Loss '''57-12 '''59-10 '''67-15 '''57-16 '''47-15 '''31-13 '''44-14 '''36-15 '''14-12 '''3-3 677-1802
Year End Ranking '''2 '''2 '''1 '''3 '''9 '''12 '''6 '''20 '''159 '''339 '''N/A

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-8 (quarter finals up to finalist).
1 The San Diego tournament achieved Tier I status only in 2004.
2 If ITF women's circuit (Hardcourt: 3-1) and Fed Cup (23-2) participations are included, overall win-loss record stands at 703-183.

Doubles (35)

  • 2003 (3)
    • (w/ Raymond) - Indian Wells, Amelia Island, Eastbourne

  • 2002 (1)
    • (w/ Raymond) - Filderstadt

  • 2001 (2)
    • (w/ Raymond) - Filderstadt, Zürich

  • 2000 (1)
    • (w/ Morariu) - Indian Wells

  • 1999 (4)
    • (w/ Morariu) - Wimbledon, Stanford, San Diego
    • (w/ Zvereva) - Tokyo Pacific

  • 1998 (6)
    • (w/ Zvereva) - WTA Tour Championships, Indian Wells, Berlin, Stanford, San Diego, Filderstadt

  • 1997 (7)
    • (w/ Novotna) - US Open, WTA Tour Championships, Amelia Island, Berlin
    • (w/ Zvereva) - Tokyo Pacific, Indian Wells
    • (w/ Hingis) - Stanford

  • 1996 (5)
    • (w/ MJ.Fernandez) - Roland Garros, WTA Tour Championships, Sydney, Oakland
    • (w/ Zvereva) - Los Angeles

  • 1995 (4)
    • (w/ Novotna) - Sydney
    • (w/ Raymond) - Indian Wells
    • (w/ MJ.Fernandez) - Strasbourg, Tokyo *

  • 1994 (2)
    • (w/ Raymond) - Indian Wells
    • (w/ Sánchez-Vicario) - Oakland

See also

External links

1976 births | Living people | American tennis players | People from the Greater Los Angeles Area | Australian Open champions | French Open champions | Wimbledon champions | US Open champions | Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics | Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | לינדזי דבנפורט | Lindsay Davenport | リンゼイ・ダベンポート | Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | Lindsay Davenport | 林赛·达文波特

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Lindsay Davenport".

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