Davenport waits out rain, advances to quarters

NEW YORK -- Lindsay Davenport spent the better part of Monday sitting by a window at the National Tennis Center while rain fell. Once play started, she rose to the occasion.\nPlaying just her fifth tournament since knee surgery, Davenport moved into the U.S. Open quarterfinals by beating 13th-seeded Silvia Farina Elia of Italy 6-3, 6-1 in a match that started more than 7 hours late because of downpours.\n"It was hard for me to get going. I really didn't have a lot of time to" prepare, Davenport said. "I'm so relieved it's over with, but I don't remember going out there too many times with no warmup, not a lot of notice."\nThird-seeded Jennifer Capriati followed Davenport in Arthur Ashe Stadium and also eased into the round of eight, beating fellow American Amy Frazier 6-1, 6-3 despite eight double faults.\nRain that fell through the night continued into Monday, and organizers postponed 60 doubles and junior tournament matches. They were still hoping to be able to fit in a big schedule of main draw singles action, though by 8:45 p.m., only Davenport and Capriati had completed their matches.\n"The bad news is: We're behind in matches, doing the best to make them up," tournament referee Brian Earley said. "We're certainly hopeful to get where we need to be. We know it's a hardship."\nDavenport only had a hard time right at the start against Farina Elia, dropping the first two games. Then she turned it on, winning four straight games and 12 of the remaining 14. Davenport won eight of the last nine points in each set, closing the match by breaking Farina-Elia's serve at love.\n"Once I got back on serve pretty early, I think I felt a lot better out there," Davenport said.\nThe American finished 2001 atop the rankings, but she was out from November until last month because of her knee injury. While Davenport and another former No. 1 player recovering from surgery, Martina Hingis, were sidelined, Serena and Venus Williams met in the last two Grand Slam finals and climbed to 1-2 in the world.\nIn Davenport's comeback, she reached the semifinals in the first two and the finals in the last two. Two losses came against Venus Williams, including the title match Saturday in New Haven, Conn.\nShe spent nine weeks on crutches after her operation in January, then endured months of rehabilitation that included eight hours a day using a machine that repeatedly bent and straightened her right knee.\nDavenport also changed her diet and has appeared fit in her four victories here.\nThe worst potential backlog was in the lower half of the men's draw, which includes four-time U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras, 1997 finalist Greg Rusedski, third-seeded Tommy Haas, and three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten.\nTheir third-round matches got under way Sunday, but they were halted in progress, with Sampras serving down 5-4 to Rusedski, Haas up a set against Thomas Enqvist, and Kuerten a set ahead of Nicolas Massu. Even if all were finished Monday, it meant one men's finalist probably would have to play five matches in seven days.\n"We know best-of-five (set matches) take a lot out of a guy," Earley said. "We know the bottom half of the draw is going to be a struggle for somebody."\nIt certainly wouldn't make things any easier for the 31-year-old Sampras, who has been struggling with his game of late. He hasn't won a tournament since July 2000, when at Wimbledon he claimed his record 13th Grand Slam title.\nOthers have more pressing fitness questions.\nHaas has had pain in his right arm -- though his coach, David Ayme, said Monday it's "not a factor when he gets on the court" -- and another player in that half of the draw, fifth-seeded Tim Henman, has been fighting right shoulder problems.\n"We're not even thinking that far ahead," Ayme said, referring to the chance that there could be a jammed schedule. "If we lose one, Tommy's on a plane, and he watches the rest of the tournament at home on TV."\nWhile pushing the men's final back a day to Sept. 9 could happen, Earley said there are some limits to what his options are as he tries to figure out a way to get all the matches in. No day's action will start before 11 a.m., for example, and players won't have to play more than one singles match in a day, unlike at some lesser tournaments where weather interrupts action.\nUnlike at Wimbledon, there aren't indoor practice courts made available to players during the two weeks of the U.S. Open. Instead, that space is handed over to sponsors and an area called SmashZone, where fans can measure how fast they serve or play the role of sports broadcaster by calling action from a match on tape.