Big-Sis-Next-Door Davenport Moves On

by matthew cronin

	ART SEITZ All Smiles: Lindsay and husband Jon Leach will start a new tennis monarchy.

When asked a couple of years ago where she ranked among the great American women of the Open Era, the often bold Lindsay Davenport wouldn't toot her own horn too much, but she agreed she was up there.

It's a fair-sized debate as to exactly where the now 30-year-old falls on that list, but that's pretty much all that's left to discuss, because in December, Davenport announced that she was pregnant and had no plans to return to the tour.

Given all her substantial ailments over the past five years, it would be unreasonable to think that she'll attempt a comeback. She has been flirting with the idea of retiring for the past three years and frequently stated that she wants to have a family and settle into a quiet lifestyle with her husband, former USC standout Jon Leach, at their Orange County home.

Last summer, her eyes lit up when she described the normal day in, day out routine that she and Jon got into when she was injured. She spent her first July 4 at home since 1991 and even got to watch some movies in the middle of the day.

She has also stated that once she started a family, she didn't want to be limping around chasing her toddlers or be unable to bat the ball around with her husband.

"I want to be able to play with Jon because I love to play. That's never changed, and hopefully I won't be crippled," she said.

In 2006, Davenport spent five months rehabbing a bad injury, and although she did make a serious attempt at a comeback in August and September, she couldn't rediscover her former elite level. Her last tournament was in Bali. Jon traveled with her there, and she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in what was almost assuredly her last match.

But despite not having won a Slam title since '00, she sees herself as an overachiever, saying frequently that "no one predicted me to do what I did...I didn't generate that much buzz."

Since '93, when she turned pro at the age of 16, Davenport has been as consistent as the waves lapping the shore near her Laguna Beach home. She rarely imploded until late in tournaments and almost never did so outside of the Slams. She seemed to own a corner of the weekend marquee board.

She racked up 51 singles titles, including three Slams (1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open) and also won 36 doubles titles. She was a Fed Cup standout and an Olympic gold medalist. For a time, she was active on the WTA Player's Council and almost always spoke her mind. She's a well-thought-of Hall of Famer.

"Lindsay's [ML1]done such wonderful things for women's tennis and also for women period in sports," said Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison. "I always use her as an example to the younger players. Lindsay is the epitome of a true pro on the court and off the court."

Davenport choked more than her fair share of matches at the Slams, and while she'll go down as one of the best players of her generation, the past five years have been full of stinging losses that fans won't quickly forget, like at the '04 and '05 U.S. Open semis (to Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva), the '04 Aussie Open final (to Serena) and the '05 Wimbledon final (a heart-stopping defeat to Venus).

With her [ML2]big-sister-next-door demeanor, she gained plenty of fans, but her admittedly awful on-court body language also chased some potential backers away (has any great ever hung her head more?). Davenport didn't exactly feel under-appreciated, but she didn't feel like America's darling, either.

"I don't know if underappreciated is the right word. I'm definitely not as beloved as the other American players," she said. "A lot of that is because they are much more outgoing and embrace the crowd a lot better than I do. I'm not good with people looking at me on the street, much less on a tennis court. I don't play to the crowd at all. Jennifer and the Williamses are much bigger stars than I am. People don't understand that I am totally fine with that and prefer it that way. I would never want to do anything to try to change it."

Davenport walks away as sixth on the all-time list at weeks at No. 1, but has the lowest number of Slam titles among the top eight. Nonetheless, in a ranking of Open Era U.S-born women (discounting Navratilova and Seles), Davenport hovers between No. 4 and No. 7, obviously behind Chris Evert (18 Slams), Billie Jean King (12), and Serena (7), and then right in there with Venus (5), Capriati (3), and Tracy Austin (2). Even Davenport, who has an opinion on just about everything, wasn't exactly sure where she belonged, but it's an All Star list that she's proud to be a part of.

"That's tough," Davenport said. "I would say that Serena and Venus are ahead of me. It's so hard to rate people."

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