NOTEBOOK
Lindsay Davenport’s backhand service return plopped into net on triple-match point, and perhaps that will mark the final stroke of the Southern Californian’s U.S. Open career. Davenport came to the net and kissed the Belgian on each cheek, classy to the end.
There will be no storybook finish for Davenport here as she succumbed in the quarterfinals to raging-hot No. 2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne, 6-4, 6-4 at Ashe Stadium. The rugged Belgian base liner will face unheralded 19th-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic in tomorrow’s semifinals.
Thirty years old, married to an investment banker and dealing with assorted aches and pains, Davenport has hinted strongly at retirement. The 1998 Open champion said she will make her decision in November whether to continue in 2007.
“At this point, I have no idea,” she said.
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No. 3 Maria Sharapova became the last to advance to the semifinals last night, needing two tiebreakers and 2 hours, 11 minutes to beat Tatiana Golovin, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-0).
Sharapova survived three service breaks in the first set and an ill-timed injury timeout in the first tiebreaker by Golovin. After her father, Yuri, started waving a banana before the second-set tiebreaker, Sharapova devoured one, then bageled Golovin 7-0.
Sharapova faces top seed Amelie Mauresmo tomorrow. “She’s the one to beat right now,” Sharapova said.
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Henin-Hardenne, the No. 2 seed, came out of the match in more pain than Davenport. The 2003 Open champion needed a trainer after the first set to check on her rib muscle.
Henin-Hardenne has now beaten Davenport seven consecutive times. “In my mind, she’s probably the best player in the world,” Davenport said.
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In a resumption of Tuesday’s match, Germany’s Tommy Haas, winning his second straight five-setter, advanced to the quarters by outplaying his practice partner, Marat Safin in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
Safin, the 2000 Open champion, blew a 3-1 tiebreaker lead and made two straight unforced errors at 5-5 to lose it. The two-day match was played officially played in 3:11.
