MELBOURNE - World No 1 Lindsay Davenport fought back from a mid-match slump to hold off Australian Alicia Molik 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 yesterday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Davenport faltered badly at the end of the second set with a string of unforced errors, but clung on
desperately to beat the 10th seed and ruin Australia Day celebrations for a capacity crowd.
Molik, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final and unbeaten in 12 previous matches this year, turns 24 today and almost kicked off her birthday celebrations a day early as she worked hard to force a dramatic deciding set.
She saved one match point on Davenport's serve in the 10th game of the final set before the American finally prevailed after two hours and 33 minutes in hot, exhausting conditions.
"It was a really tough match," a relieved Davenport said.
The 28-year-old American appeared on course for a reasonably comfortable victory before she allowed Molik back into the match in the 10th game of the second set, hitting two unforced errors and two double faults to gift her opponent a break of serve and the set.
The two players were then given a 10-minute break under the tournament's heat policy as the temperature edged towards 35C.
It was a different match when they returned.
Molik raced to 40-0 on Davenport's serve in the second game. The top seed saved those break points and then scrambled madly to save three more in the same game.
Davenport gained a break of serve in the seventh game after Molik hit two successive backhand errors.
The world No 1 served for the match at 5-4 before Molik came charging back yet again, a withering forehand service return setting up two break points at 40-15.
The Australian finally levelled at 5-5 on her sixth break point with another forehand winner.
As if to prove she was in uncharted territory, Molik served first at 6-6 in the decider and threw the balls away after one delivery, thinking she was in a tiebreak.
Davenport broke serve in the 15th game when Molik netted a backhand. The American then closed out the match in the next game with a volley at the net on her second match point.
Davenport, the 2000 champion, will play 19th seed Nathalie Dechy for a place in her second Australian Open final after the Frenchwoman downed 12th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 5-7, 6-1 ,7-5.
In a topsy-turvy encounter, the Swiss player looked set for victory when she led 2-0 in the deciding set.
But Dechy stormed back to win in just over 2 1/2 hours and progress to the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Semifinals
Men
1-R. Federer (Switzerland) v. M. Safin (Russia)
2-A. Roddick (US) v. 3-L. Hewitt (Australia)
Women
4-M. Sharapova (Russia) v. 7-S. Williams (US)
1-L. Davenport (US) v. 19-N. Dechy (France)
- REUTERS
MELBOURNE - World No 1 Lindsay Davenport fought back from a mid-match slump to hold off Australian Alicia Molik 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 yesterday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Davenport faltered badly at the end of the second set with a string of unforced errors, but clung on
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