Lindsay Davenport saved two match points, then came on strong after a brief rain delay to defeat a rattled Mary Pierce and reach the semi-finals of the US Open Tennis Championships at Flushing Meadows in New York yesterday.
Davenport, the defending champion and second seed, had fought off two match points in the 10th game of the third set and broken Pierce to level at five games each when play was halted.
When they returned 70 minutes later, Davenport opened with two aces and held, then won the match 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 when Pierce double-faulted on the American's second match point.
Pierce had saved one match point with a forehand winner in that game, which went to deuce four times. She put herself up 3015 by powering a forehand passing shot past Davenport from several feet behind the baseline.
But when she gave Davenport another chance with a forehand error, she coughed up her seventh double fault of the match.
Pierce, trying to put the memory of the disastrous 10th game behind her as quickly as possible, looked nonplussed when tournament referee Brian Earley called them to their chairs with a misty rain barely falling.
The French player led 40-30 in the previous game when Davenport ended a long rally with a backhand cross court that kissed the line. Pierce immediately double-faulted to give Davenport a break point, which she saved when Davenport netted a forehand.
Pierce gave herself another match point with a forehand approach winner, then hit her own backhand cross court an inch into the alley - at which she laughed. A forehand long and a forehand into the net from Pierce and Davenport had evened the set.
As the rain sprinkled down, they tried to wait it out on court, but after a couple of minutes they packed up their rackets and headed for the locker-room.
Earley admitted it was difficult to stop the match at such a crucial moment, but after Mary Joe Fernandez suffered a strained thigh muscle on a rain-slick court in her fourth-round loss to Venus Williams on Sunday he was taking no chances.
Earlier had come the news that former tennis bad boy John McEnroe has gone establishment, taking charge of the United States Davis Cup team with an eye to keeping top stars Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the fold.
Judy Levering, president of the US Tennis Association, spoke with Sampras, Agassi, Todd Martin and Jim Courier to find out who they wanted. From a small group of candidates, McEnroe was the man.
McEnroe replaces Tom Gullikson, a friend of Sampras who had been the US captain since 1994. Gullikson was criticised for his handling of the US team in July's Davis Cup home quarter-final loss to Australia.
Asked about how far Sampras went in having Gullikson replaced, Levering said: "I had his blessing on the naming of John, yes. . . There's no one in the world more passionate about tennis than John. He will bring that same passion and energy that he did as a player. He has the respect of the players and everyone in tennis."
Known for his hot temper in his playing days, 40-year-old McEnroe was often a harsh USTA critic who dismissed the idea he had sold out to win a job he has longed dreamed about from USTA officials.
"We've both changed and hopefully both changed for the better," McEnroe said. Now he is hopeful that Agassi can be lured back into the fold.
Men's Singles - Fourth round (prefix number denotes seeding): S Dosedel (Cze) bt J Novak (Cze) 6-4 7-5 5-7 7-5, (7) T Martin (US) bt (9) G Rusedski (Brit) 5-7 0-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-4.
Women's Singles - Quarter-finals: (3) V Williams (US) bt (12) B Schett (Aut) 6-4 6-3. (2) L Davenport bt (5) M Pierce (Fra) 6-2, 3-6, 75.
Men's Doubles - Semi-finals: (1) M Bhupathi/L Paes (Ind) bt A Olhovskiy/D Prinosil (Rus/Ger) 6-4, 6-3. (11) S Laureau/A O'Brien (Can/US) bt (7) J Bjorkman/B Black (Swe/Zim) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
Mixed Doubles - Semi-finals: K Po/D Johnson (US) bt (3) R Stubbs/T Woodbridge (Aus) 6-4, 6-4.
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