ESPN.com - Australian Open 2003 - Davenport rallies; Kournikova crushed
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Friday, July 18
Davenport rallies; Kournikova crushed

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former Australian Open champion Lindsay Davenport reached the third round Wednesday, rallying from a loss in the first-set tiebreaker and a 3-1 deficit in the third set to defeat Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-5.

Fifth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne needed only 48 minutes to beat former top 10 player Anna Kournikova 6-0, 6-1. And second-seeded Venus Williams returned to form, regularly unleashing winners off her backhand to earn a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 21-year-old Ansley Cargill.

Davenport found a way to beat the 57th-ranked Tulyaganova despite trailing in winners 46-39 and committing more errors, 43-34. Davenport let a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker slip away, and she wasted break point opportunities in the final set's eighth game before winning.

In the final game, Tulyaganova drove an easy smash into the net, hit two shots long and then rushed the net on match point, allowing Davenport an easy forehand crosscourt pass.

"Sometimes, you're definitely lucky to be in the tournament when you don't play your best,'' Davenport said. "I'm definitely happy to still be around when some others are not."

Davenport, winner of the 1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon and the 2000 Australian Open, is seeded ninth after missing most of last year because of knee surgery. On her comeback, she reached last year's U.S. Open semifinals.

Williams won 27 of 33 points at the net against Cargill, and tested her full arsenal, mixing 39 winners with 28 errors as she went for every shot. She sealed the 52-minute match with her fourth ace.

"I just tried to get into my rhythm more than anything else, just hit a lot of balls and get a nice rhythm going," Venus said. "I was able to start being aggressive because I was more consistent."

Henin-Hardenne, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2001 and a semifinalist last year, needed only 48 minutes to win 6-0, 6-1, and will next play No. 32 Katarina Srebotnik, a 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 winner over Virginie Razzano.

Kournikova, coming back from an ankle injury, served wildly or weakly, double faulted six times, missed most of her volley attempts and committed 29 unforced errors.

Henin-Hardenne said she tried to forget everything about Kournikova, a glamorous favorite of the crowds.

"I played really well in the first set," she said. "I didn't make a lot of mistakes. But it was hard to stay focused because there were not a lot of rallies.

"It was a very slow serve, and a lot of double faults. Sometimes it was amazing. I just tried to stay focused on myself."

This tournament marked the first time Kournikova, the 1997 Wimbledon semifinalist, had advanced beyond the first round in five Grand Slam events. She has fallen to 42nd in the rankings from a high of No. 8 in 2001.

"I was always on the defense," she said. "She was always a step (ahead) of me. I really had no weapons against her. ... I tried to get into the match, find some kind of a weakness, but there was none."

Henin-Hardenne had won her three previous meetings against Kournikova, including a first-round match here last year.

After the stunning first-round loss by defending champion Jennifer Capriati, nine other women's seeds have been ousted: No. 13 Silvia Farina Elia of Italy became the next-highest player to go out, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Australian Nicole Pratt.

No. 15 Alexandra Stevenson, a 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist, lost 6-2, 6-2 to Denisa Chladkova, No. 21 Ai Sugiyama fell 6-4, 6-4 to Russian Nadia Petrova, and No. 27 Lisa Raymond lost 6-3, 6-1 to Germany's Anca Barna.

After pulling off the upset of the tournament against Capriati, Marlene Weingartner moved a step closer to emulating her fourth-round appearance of last year with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Stephanie Foretz.

No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova struggled to a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) victory over Italy's Adriana Serra Zanetti, and No. 12 Patty Schnyder beat Spain's Marta Marrero 6-3, 6-1.

No. 23 Paola Suarez, leading 6-0, 3-0, advanced when Italy's Tathiana Garbin retired with a right shoulder strain.

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Justine Henin-Hardenne tattoos Anna Kournikova 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the third round.
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