Tennis: Davenport returns to top of rankings

Lindsay Davenport extended a brilliant resurgence in form with a hard-fought 1-6,6-3,7-6 victory over Belgian teen-ager Kim Clijsters in Munich last night to finish the year in top spot for the second time in her career.


Davenport, the second seed, needed to beat third seed Clijsters in her semifinal at the season-end WTA Championships to return to number one for the first time since May last year.


The powerful American, who also ended 1998 at the top of the women's world rankings, recovered from a sluggish start to oust the French Open runner-up and set up a final clash against compatriot Serena Williams.


Seventh seed Williams, playing her first tournament since losing to her sister Venus in the US Open final in September, brushed aside France's Sandrine Testud 6-3,6-0 in just 54 minutes with a merciless display in the other semifinal.


The 25-year-old Davenport, who has not reached a Grand Slam final this year but has been unstoppable since the start of the indoor season, will overtake fellow-American Jennifer Capriati when the final 2001 WTA rankings are released on Monday.


"Obviously it's a huge honour to finish the year at number one but I don't put a whole lot of emphasis on it," said Davenport.


Capriati, who captured top spot for the first time in her career last month, would have remained the number one had she made the final in Munich's Olympic hall.


But the former teenage sensation, who completed a remarkable comeback this year by winning the Australian and French Open titles, was weakened by fever and a throat infection when she lost to Testud in the quarter-finals here Friday.


Davenport, who won three tournaments in a row to move into second place just 61 points behind Capriati prior to the season's finale, has now racked up 15 straight victories.


The towering Davenport first seized the number one ranking on October 12, 1998 and held it for a total of 28 weeks in four stints until May 21 last year.


She becomes the sixth player to end the season in the number one spot at least twice since the inception of the computer rankings following Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.


"I know it sounds terrible but I don't really care," she said. "To get there the first time was an amazing feeling but this is different because I've been number one off and on for a few years."


Clijsters, 18, did not look too impressed by Davenport's recent indoor record as she broke her straight away and again in the sixth game before sealing the first set with an ace after just 24 minutes.


But Davenport, who has said she did not deserve to end the season at number one because she has not won a major this year, then stepped up a gear, taking a 4-0 lead in the second set.


The American was broken as she served for the set, leading 5-1, but she was still one break up and won the set on her next service game when Clijsters fired a return wide.


The decisive set was a close affair. Clijsters dropped serve in the fifth game by hitting a forehand long but the combative young Belgian broke back immediately.
Both players looked nervous, especially Davenport, who missed numerous chances to break.


The match went to a tiebreak in which Davenport moved 5-0 up before taking it 7-3 with a backhand winner on her second match point to end a tense battle lasting one hour and 48 minutes.


There was some controversy after the match as Davenport, who had complained about an overruled line call, which denied her a break for a 5-4 lead in the third set, walked off without shaking French umpire Anne Lasserre-Ullrich's hand.


"I don't know why she decided she wanted to get involved in the match," said Davenport. "It was all very frustrating."