| | Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England -- Mary Pierce had an early exit from Wimbledon on Thursday. Defending champion Lindsay Davenport was three games from elimination, but rallied for victory.
|  | | Spain's Magui Serna reacts as she defeats France's Mary Pierce at Wimbledon. |
Pierce, the French Open champion who is seeded third, lost to Magui
Serna 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4). That left only seven seeded players in the
women's draw.
Davenport, the defending singles champion and No. 2 seed, rallied from an 0-3, 15-40 deficit in the final
set, winning the final six games to beat Elena Likhovtseva 3-6,
6-3, 6-3.
Unseeded Jelena Dokic, a quarterfinalist last year, advanced by
beating Gala Leon Garcia 7-6 (5), 6-1. Dokic's father, Damir, was
briefly detained by police after the match following a
confrontation with a reporter.
The Serbian-born Dokic, with an English flag draped around him,
behaved belligerently, drew a crowd of several dozen people and
gestured obscenely to a female reporter, witnesses said. He wasn't
charged.
Dokic was escorted from a tournament at Birmingham, England,
last year for drunken cheering.
American Lilia Osterloh upset No. 12 Amanda Coetzer 7-6 (7-0),
6-2. No. 6 Monica Seles beat Els Callens 6-4, 6-4. No. 9 Arantxa
Sanchez-Vicario eliminated Rita Grande 6-3, 6-1.
Unseeded Jennifer Capriati, enjoying her best Wimbledon since
1993, advanced to the third round by overpowering fellow American
Meghann Shaughnessy 7-6 (1), 6-2.
Capriati lost in the second round in 1998 and 1999. She didn't
play at Wimbledon in 1994-97, when she struggled with drug and
personal problems.
American 19-year-old Alexandra Stevenson, a surprise
semifinalist last year in her first Grand Slam tournament, lost to
Patricia Wartusch 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Before departing, the 19-year-old American backed up her
earlier accusations of racism on the women's tour.
Stevenson said a French player used a vulgarity while calling
her a "black girl" during a match, and her mother had a
confrontation with another French player. Stevenson's mother is
white; her father, basketball great Julius Erving, is black.
"I kind of made a big splash last year. I don't think a lot of
girls appreciated it. They have to grow up," she said. "There is
a lot of hazing going on. I don't think any young girl should go
through that."
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