Tuesday January 6, 12:23 PM
The end of an era gets closer for Davenport
PERTH, Australia (AFP) - American Lindsay Davenport, 27, doesn't know quite when she'll bring her illustrious tennis career to a close, but she readily admits it will be sooner rather than later.
"This is like my 13th year so I mean it's closer to the end than the beginning -- but certainly when you're not playing for months at a time your mind starts to wander," Davenport said here Tuesday.
"But no, I really have no idea. I have no timetable for anything like that (retirement). It could be next month, it could be in two years, I have no idea."
Yet the former world number one, who first underwent knee, then foot surgery in the last 19 months, said she is no longer driven by a hunger to be the best of the best.
Speaking after her straight sets win over teenager Barbora Strycova in the Hopman Cup international mixed teams event in Perth, Davenport said it was more a case of wanting to put in one good year, without interruption.
"Two surgeries in 19 months isn't easy, but I feel like it's something you have to go through sometimes -- you just have to hang in there with it," said the winner of three grand slams, including Wimbledon.
When asked if she was still hungry to reach the pinnacle of women's tennis, Davenport, currently ranked number five in the world, said she did't know.
"There's a lot of disappointment, first with my knee, that it happened to me just as I hit number one again ... but I'm still out here for a reason.
"I don't know if it's quite hunger or just that I don't want to go out being hurt all the time. It's like you have one really good solid year of being healthy."
Davenport was ranked number one at the end of 2001 but had to undergo surgery early in 2002, forcing her to pull out of both the Australian and French Opens, and Wimbledon that year.
Although she played well against the lowly-ranked but highly-competitive Czech, Davenport said she wasn't sure just how well prepared she would be for the Australian Open, a title which she won in 2000 and which starts in Melbourne on January 19.
"I really don't know what to expect ... just keep on playing the next few weeks to try and get my game a little more consistent and to feel more comfortable," she said.
"I'm just focussed right now on Australia and getting better. I still feel like I'm many matches away from really feeling great or in the rhythm of playing matches."
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※ 編輯: zerkchu 來自: 203.219.101.22 (01/06 22:58)