A STATE OF SUCCESS; LINDSAY DAVENPORT RETURNS HOME WITH A HOT STREAK AND TITLES IN TOW.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer It's hard to say whom Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport (born June 8 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is a former World No. 1 American professional female tennis champion. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon, and the 2000 Australian Open. stymies more frequently, her opponents or the media. She has what the lay person calls a nice personality - she's punctual punc·tu·al adj. 1. Acting or arriving exactly at the time appointed; prompt. 2. Paid or accomplished at or by the appointed time. 3. Precise; exact. 4. , cordial and good-natured. So, in these days of flashy women's tennis in which tantrums, teen-agers and bravado are daily occurrences, Davenport is comparatively - gasp - boring. She knows her personality and accentuates it to hungry journalists. ``I'd rather be the player who on the Monday after the tournament is getting all the press for winning the tournament,'' Davenport said. ``I just really let the tennis do the talking. I don't worry about too many other things. I don't like to create a lot of attention.'' Davenport and her pleasant demeanor will command attention this week as she tries to defend her Acura Classic The Acura Classic was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every summer at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 2004 until its final year in 2007. title at Manhattan Country Club. The 23-year old, who grew up in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and lives in Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. , is coming home. Last year, Davenport came to L.A. ranked second in the world but without a Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. title. This year, she was ranked first until Saturday, when Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (pronounced: hɪŋˈɡɪs) (born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Slovakia) is a former World No. 1 Swiss tennis player. reclaimed the ranking in Carlsbad. Still, Davenport returns to Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach, city (1990 pop. 32,063), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1912. It is a residential and beach community with an oil refinery and nearby factories that produce transportation and electrical equipment, computers, and pottery. with two slams, having won the U.S. Open last year and Wimbledon this year. By the way, Davenport is hot with the exception of losing, 6-4, 7-5, to Venus Williams on Saturday in the semifinals of the TIG n. 1. A game among children. See Tag. 2. A capacious, flat-bottomed drinking cup, generally with four handles, formerly used for passing around the table at convivial entertainment. Classic. After winning last week in Stanford, she is 18-2 in her past 20 matches (she also lost to Serena Williams at Indian Wells), is 35-6 this year and 20-4 on hardcourts. Until the loss, Davenport was going for a California sweep. She did it last year, winning at Stanford, Carlsbad and Manhattan Beach. But a repeat, she admitted, was a tall order. ``One of my best traits is that I'm pretty realistic,'' she said before Stanford. ``I love this surface and I love California, but two win all three last year was pretty special and pretty magical.'' There's that humble personality again. She perhaps did pick an appropriate word to describe her tennis because it's no stretch to call her run at Wimbledon magical. Davenport wasn't supposed to win the prestigious grass tournament. Many factors were working against her and bookies made the odds of a Davenport title 15 to 1. Instead, Davenport silenced critics and made one of the biggest steps of her six-year professional career by winning where she wasn't supposed to. ``Two Grand Slam titles instead of one puts me in a more elite category,'' Davenport said. ``With just one, you may think it was just lucky.'' Now, she oly feels lucky about being able to return to L.A. ``It's always been the most special tournament to me,'' Davenport said. ``My mom took me there when I was a girl and that's where I was first introduced to pro tennis. It's an atmosphere that I love with my friends and family there.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, box PHOTO Lindsay Davenport hasn't known much losing of late, having won 18 of her past 20 matches. Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press Box: ACURA CLASSIC When: Today-Sunday Where: Manhattan Country Club, Manhattan Beach Tickets: (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000 |
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