Davenport survives match, heat in Melbourne

By Greg Stutchbury

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Top seed Lindsay Davenport survived a
tough match and the extreme heat to beat Russia’s Maria
Kirilenko 6-4 4-6 6-2 in the third round at the Australian Open
on Friday.

Both players struggled with their serve in the first two
sets with Davenport snatching two breaks in the first, while
Kirilenko did the same in the second, to send the game into a
decider.

Temperatures on center court at Rod Laver Arena were as
high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Farenheit), but because they
had already begun play it could not be halted or the roof
closed.

Games on outside courts were postponed, while the match at
Vodafone Arena between Justine Henin-Hardenne and Virginie
Razzano was briefly delayed as officials closed the roof.

Both Davenport and Kirilenko lost their opening service
games though the world number one broke again in the fifth game
to give her enough of an advantage to take the first set.

In the second, the 18-year-old Muscovite broke the American
in the fourth and 10th games to even the match.

Davenport was visibly affected in the extreme heat
conditions and the 2000 champion at Melbourne Park was using
ice packs to cool down during the changeovers, and asked for a
short break to change her clothes at the end of the second set.

The break rejuvenated the American, who immediately broke
Kirilenko’s serve and held to establish a 2-0 lead.

Kirilenko then required a medical timeout to have a blister
on her left foot attended to by the trainer and during the
break clouds rolled across the blazing sun, dropping the
temperature on court appreciably.

The Russian teenager, who won her first WTA tour title last
year in Beijing, was unable to halt the American’s momentum
after she had her toe strapped and Davenport reeled off four of
the last six games to seize victory.

Davenport will meet 14th seeded-Russian Svetlana
Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, in the fourth round.