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Davenport outslugs Venus Williams
Lindsay Davenport won the battle of the former champions when she outslugged Venus Williams 7-5 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
Lindsay Davenport won the battle of the former champions when she outslugged Venus Williams 7-5 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday.
The 28-year-old fifth seed grabbed one break in each set to extend her winning streak to 21 matches and set up a quarter-final with unseeded Shinobu Asagoe of Japan.
It was the 25th meeting between the two Americans dating back to 1997 with Davenport now leading 13-12.
In a repeat of the 2000 final, which Venus won, both players crunched groundstrokes to the corners but Davenport found the only break in the 11th game and served out for the first set.
Venus tried to take the game to Davenport in the second set but the 1998 champion repeated the feat in the fifth game to lead 3-2.
In a dramatic 10th game of the second set, Venus saved four match points but Davenport also fought off five break points before clinching victory.
"I wanted to win so badly and I played such a calm match until a few errors crept in at the end," said Davenport, who has collected four titles since losing in the Wimbledon semi-final.
