DAVENPORT COMING OF AGE.

Byline: KAREN CROUSE

Lindsay Davenport stood over six feet by her Sweet Sixteenth birthday. In those days, her dreams were the only things about her that weren't oversized.

She had no designs on the No. 1 ranking that Monica Seles had wrested from Steffi Graf the previous year at the age of 17. All Davenport wanted from tennis back in 1992 was a free ride to Stanford.

``I was never playing tennis to become a pro-level player,'' Davenport said. ``All I wanted was to get a college scholarship to Stanford, because my dad said it was too expensive for him (to foot the bill).''

Davenport laughed at the recollection, reveling in the irony that is her wonderful life. Because these days, money most definitely is not keeping her from becoming a coed at Stanford. Her tennis is.

The 22-year-old on Sunday upended No. 1-ranked Martina Hingis 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Acura Classic to collect her third consecutive winner's check. Like a bill collector, Davenport has traveled up and down her native state this past month, settling old and imagined debts.

She beat Graf and upstart Venus Williams on her way to the title at Stanford, Seles and Mary Pierce en route to victory at Carlsbad and Seles in straight sets in the semifinals here. Davenport, ranked No. 2 with a bullet, also added wins in doubles up North and down South, bringing her three-week earnings to $260,750.

That should be enough to pay college tuition, room and board for herself, her niece Kennedy, who turned 1 on Sunday, all her cousins and any other nieces, nephews, sons or daughters who come along.

Sons and daughters? That's another funny thing about the place that Davenport suddenly finds herself. The introverted teen-ager whose height had would-be male suitors recoiling in fear - the world's top female tennis players know the feeling - now is a gushing geyser of a woman who has male admirers yelling ``Lindsay, I love you'' during her matches.

Davenport appreciates the sentiments, even if they are about, oh, four years too late to ease the social awkwardness that shadowed her during her days as a student at Murrieta Valley High.

``I think being so tall so young made me a much stronger person,'' Davenport said. ``I was so much more sensitive about (my height) at 16, 17 than I am now.

``I'm proud of my height now,'' she said, pulling her shoulders back and adjusting her posture to its full position of 6 feet 2-1/2.

Before Davenport dropped 30 pounds from her frame, beating her used to require little more than patience and a deft drop shot. Players would run Davenport ragged and she'd become enraged at herself. And next thing she knew, she'd be at the net shaking hands with her conqueror.

Conditioning and the confidence that comes from back-to-back-to-back success have made a huge difference in Davenport's game. On Sunday, after both players held their serve in the first set, Davenport ran down a ball deep on her backhand side and, in one fluid move, hit a passing shot for a triple-break point.

Hingis salvaged the next two points before Davenport put the game away with a sizzling forehand. Davenport went up 4-2 in the set before Hingis, helped along by two of her 10 aces and two of Davenport's three double faults, reeled off the next four games to take the first set.

Undeterred, Davenport broke Hingis in her second service game of the second set and ultimately won the set on a botched drop shot by Hingis. Hingis persisted in hitting short volleys in the third set and Davenport made her pay, passing her for winners.

Fittingly, the longest point was the last one, with both players imitating backboards until Davenport unleashed the purest backhand passing shot this side of Tracy Austin, who, as it so happened, was doing television commentary on the match a few yards away.

``Several of the balls she hit were amazing,'' Hingis said. ``On the run, she hit corners. What can you do about that?''

If Hingis wants to hang on to her No. 1 ranking, she better hit the weight room. Granted, Hingis played doubles here while Davenport concentrated on singles. But the Swiss Miss was sagging visibly before the singles final was 45 minutes old. At 17, her energy reserves should be endless.

Of course, the No. 1 ranking tends to wrap itself around players like a 10-pound ankle weight. Rare is the athlete who doesn't find it infinitely harder to stay on top than to get there.

Being a target is tiring. Just ask Hingis, who assumed the top spot on March 31 of last year. She sounded world-weary when she said of the third set, ``You get a little tired and you can't concentrate anymore, or you are not really focused anymore. I wasn't used to it, because I always had great returns. Whenever I needed it, I would win or I would break the opponent. So that has changed.''

Davenport might not have set out to become No. 1. But now that she's closing fast on Hingis, whom she has beaten twice in three meetings this year, she has her eyes wide open.

``I think it is harder to be (Number) One,'' she said. ``It is tough to always stay up and to always be motivated to win every tournament.''

A few minutes later, outside the media tent, she confessed, ``I don't really want the spotlight. Being Number One has never been important to me, although it would be unbelievable if it happened. For me, it's always been about improving and being a consistent player.''

Davenport's game is in such good shape, she's liable to run down even those things she never dreamed she'd be chasing.

CALIFORNIA GIRL

Lindsay Davenport, who grew up in the South Bay and now lives in Newport Beach, has completed a swing through her home state that gained her a ton of prestige in singles and a ton of money:

Bank of the West tournament, Stanford: Beat Venus Williams in final, won $79,000.

Toshiba Classic, Carlsbad: Beat Mary Pierce in final, won $79,000.

Acura Classic, Manhattan Beach: Beat Martina Hingis in final, won $79,000.

CAPTION(S):

Box

BOX: CALIFORNIA GIRL (see text)