Davenport Quits Sydney International
Fri January 16, 2004 12:50 AM ET
By Julian Linden
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Lindsay Davenport's Australian Open preparations suffered
a major scare when a shoulder injury forced her to withdraw from a semi-final
with Justine Henin-Hardenne at the Sydney International Friday.
Davenport strained a muscle in her right shoulder during her quarter-final
win over Elena Dementieva Thursday before aggravating the problem by playing
doubles.
The American told a news conference it was too painful for her to play
against world number one Henin-Hardenne but she was hopeful of recovering in
time for the Australian Open in Melbourne which starts Monday.
"There's a chance it will heal completely if I give it three or four days'
rest," she said.
"I've dealt with much worse injuries and things in the past so I'm pretty
optimistic that it will heal."
Davenport is the only player left in the women's draw to have already won the
Australian Open, after the withdrawal of last year's winner Serena Williams
and former champions Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles and Mary Pierce.
The American, ranked fifth in the world, said she gave herself a real chance
of winning this year as long as she was fit.
INJURY PROBLEMS
Davenport has been plagued by injury problems in recent years and underwent a
foot operation in October. But she has been in good form since returning this
year.
A former world number one, Davenport won each of her singles matches to help
the United States retain the Hopman Cup in Perth last week and continued her
winning streak in Sydney.
The 27-year-old Californian said her latest injury was probably caused by her
sudden burst of matches after a long layoff and her withdrawal was mainly a
precaution for the Australian Open.
Davenport was drawn to play Romania's Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie in the first
round but said she would ask organizers if she could start Tuesday instead of
Monday.
"At this point of my career and all the injuries I've had, I just feel it's
best right now to get myself better," she said.
"I've still got some recovering to do but if my form is any indication,
I still feel really confident about my chances.
"If I'm able to serve the way I have the last few weeks, I still feel very
good about my chances."
Davenport's withdrawal gave Henin-Hardenne a free ride into Saturday's final
against either Amelie Mauresmo or Francesca Schiavone.
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