Davenport strikes blow for old stagers

Wimbledon women's singles: Women's tennis has an unhealthy appetite for propelling the older player towards the twilight of her career and championing the bright smile of the new teenage whiz.

These players are the ephemeroptera of the sporting world. They arrive in a blaze of colour at the Grand Slams and catch headlines, but within six years find themselves batting off questions about when they are going to disappear. Wimbledon forever succeeds in providing the counterpoint and highlighting the attrition rate. Sweep away the old, bring in the new, we have products to sell.

At the French Open Martina Navratilova's re-emergence at 47 years of age was met with bitchy criticism.

This month's warhorse is 28-year-old Lindsay Davenport. The American and the word retirement have been linked now for several years. But yesterday Davenport struck a blow for normality with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian 19-year-old Vera Zvonareva, even though her compatriot Amy Frazier was emptied from the competition by Russia's Maria Sharapova, 14 years her junior.

At 17 years of age, Sharapova is seen as the strongest of the adolescents but not the youngest. Before the Russian stepped on Court One against her 31-year-old opponent, 16-year-old Tatiana Golovin of France advanced to meet Serena Williams in the fourth round, beating Emmanuelle Gagliardi in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Golovin and Sharapova are the textbook teen queens, Davenport the great survivor with her natural grass-court game, Frazier proud but always punching above her weight against anyone inside the top 20.

"I was born in Russia. When I was eight months, we moved to Paris, to France. And then when I was seven years old we went to practice at (Nick) Bollettieri's (tennis academy in Florida) for seven years," said Golovin, summing up her brief career to date.

"She (Sharapova) was at Bollettieri's when I was seven. She was there one year before me. Though 14 years old we practised a lot, we played together."

Two years on and both are out swimming in the shark pool, Sharapova having perhaps a better chance of advancing despite a laden win over the ghostly-complexioned Frazier, her high-factor sun block and visor making her the most spectral figure on the circuit, if one of the more sensible.

The win puts Sharapova in a healthy position to advance towards a semi-final place. Already she has exceeded her best run at a Grand Slam and facing into a quarter-final match against Ai Sugiyama, her sights are set firmly on a meeting with Davenport at the next stage, if the American can stop another teenager, Karolina Sprem, famously responsible for the premature removing of Venus Williams in the second round.

Her tennis has been eloquent and yesterday against 29-year-old Magdalena Maleeva, the last of the tennis-playing trio of Bulgarian sisters, she rode her luck to win 6-4, 6-4.

She has surprised many but not herself.

"Maybe yeah, maybe not (surprised)," said the Croatian. "I was playing Venus two or three months ago and had a big chance. And I was playing against Shaughnessy before and I win this match.

"And I was playing against Maleeva before too. I also beat her. So not really.

"But to be in the quarter-finals here at Wimbledon, I didn't think I'd do this."

Of the six women's singles matches played yesterday, three winners were Golovin (16), Sharapova (17) and 19-year-old Sprem along with Davenport (28), Sugiyama (28) and 32-year-old Silvia Farina Elia, who now faces Amelie Mauresmo for a place in the quarter-final.

Youth wasn't having it all its own way.

Order of Play

Number denotes seeding

CENTRE COURT (1pm start)

1-Serena Williams (US) v Tatiana Golovin (France). 11-Ai Sugiyama (Japan) v 13-Maria Sharapova (Russia).

COURT ONE (1 pm start)

10-Nadia Petrova (Russia) v 7-Jennifer Capriati (US) 5-Lindsay Davenport (US) v Karolina Sprem (Croatia)

COURT TWO (noon)

4-Amelie Mauresmo (France) v 14-Silvia Farina Elia (Italy).

COURT 13 (11 am)

9-Paola Suarez (Argentina) v Rita Grande (Italy)