| | Results
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Lindsay Davenport kicked off the
sunbaked Australian Open with a straight-sets victory, then quickly
jabbed the tournament for its chauvinist prize money policy.
Playing the first match Monday in Rod Laver Arena, the renamed
center court stadium, the second-seeded Davenport had little
problem swatting winners past Frenchwoman Sarah Pitkowski, 6-3,
6-1.
|  | | Jennifer Capriati returns the ball during her 6-1, 7-6, win over Barbara Schwartz on Monday. |
More troubling to Davenport, and to many other women, is the
insistence by the Australian Open to pay higher prizes to the men.
The men's champion will receive $490,750, the women's champion
$466,050, and the men win more in each round than the women do.
Men's doubles teams also receive more in each round than the
women's teams.
It's not the size of the difference that matters to Davenport
and the other women as much as it is the symbolism, especially at a
time when women's tennis is widely regarded as more popular.
"It was very disappointing a few years ago when they took
(equal prize money) away from us," Davenport said. "For a couple
of years there we weren't maybe as popular as we are now. They said
that's the reason why they took it away, and if we generated more
interest they would give it back to us. Yet, it kind of seems like
we've done it now and they've turned their head and are not budging
from giving us back equal prize money."
The U.S. Open is the only one of the four Grand Slam events that
pays equal prize money.
"The powers that be, made up mostly of men, need to recognize
the importance of equality as more than just a gesture but as the
right thing to do," Pam Shriver said.
No. 4 Mary Pierce beat Linda Wild 7-5, 6-3, and No. 5 Nathalie
Tauziat announced she was playing her last year on tour after
beating Slovak Henrieta Nagyova 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. No. 9 Julie
Halard-Decugis advanced, but No. 15 Anke Huber fell to the
Netherlands' Kristie Boogert 6-4, 6-4.
Jennifer Capriati continued to show she can be a threat again,
opening with a 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory over Austrian Barbara Schwartz.
Jelena Dokic, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and Australia's
best hope in this tournament, fell to Hungarian Rita Kuti Kis 6-1,
2-6, 6-3. | |
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