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Show 4 cs DAILY herald Tuesday, September 7. 2004 U.S. OPEN Steady Davenport too much for Venus In 25th meeting between rivals, Davenport gets upper hand to advance to quarters THE ASSOCIATED : big-nam- PRESS NEW YORK Venus Williams was grunting loudly, Lindsay Davenport was muttering to herself, and the fans were jumping out of their seats after each point. ' The matchup was fit for a Grand Slam final; not the fourth round. So, too, was the riveting last game. Davenport and Williams, seven major titles and 49 weeks at No. 1 between them, swapped powerful strokes and anxious moments for 13 minutes and 24 points Monday at the US. Open. " Nine deuces. Five break points for 2000-0Open champion Williams. Five match points for 1998 Open champ Davenport. In the end, Davenport was slightly steadier and stronger, pulling out a 64 victory to get to 6-- SID ZULU 712 v"l P Fit? the quarterfinals. It was a fittingly tight way to end the pair's 25th meeting; they came in "A tough one to get through," d said Davenport, who faces Shinobu Asagoe for a semifinal berth. "I wanted to win so badly, and I played such a great, calm match until that point, and then let a few errors creep in." Not as many as Williams, who since playing her first Slam in 1997 never before went an entire season without reaching at least one major semifinal She hurt herself with 42 miscues, mostly off forehands and more than double Davenport's count. "It was me. I made too many errors," Williams said. "The thing that hurt me the most was my inconsistency." That's been a problem for a while, leading to her slide to No. 12 in the rankings why she was forced to play Davenport so early. Davenport, meanwhile, has won 21 straight matches since talking about retirement 12-al- L p.m. (live); CBS, 10:37-11:0a.m. (highlights). Monday's results At The USTA National Tennis Center New York Purse: $17.75 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Singles Hard-Outdo- nis." First-timFlushing Meadows quarterfinalists No. 5 Tim Hen-ma- n and No. 22 Dominik Hrbaty will meet for another semifinal slot. Playing on his 30th birthday, Henman got through when No. 19 Nicolas Kief er quit with a right wrist in30 in the fifth jury while-dowset. Hrbaty came back to eliminate Olivier Rochus 3fl, 63, 62nd-ranke- 7 On this date: Sept 7, 1953: Maureen Connolly became the first woman to complete a Grand Slam when she beat Doris Hart 6-- 64 forthe women's singles title. Connolly also beat Hart for the titles at the French Open and Wimbledon and beat Julia Sampson for the Australian Open title. Federer spent less time in action Monday, because his opponent, No. 16 Andrei Pavel, pulled out with a herniated disc in his tower back. Federer is in the Open quarterfinals for the first time. He lost in the fourth round the last three years. "There's nothing more you ask for than to play a big event against the best player in this environment," said Agassi, the 1994 and 1999 Open winner. "It's time to bring the best ten- 7-- Highlights of Monday's play at the $17.75 million U.S. Open tennis charnpionships: Weatheri Mostly sunny and pleasant with a high of 74. Attendance: Day. 34,891. Stat of tha day: Shinobu Asagoe (ranked 62nd) is the lowest ranked women's quarterfinalist since Venus Williams (66) in 1997. Quote of the day. "It works and I'm happy to play this game. Ivan Lendl played the same way and he was No. 1 in the world." Dominik Hrbaty, when asked whether he feels insulted when he's told his game is boring On TV: USA, 9 a.m.4 p.m. (live), 5-- 90 minutes. 1 At a glance 6-- 6-- e n 2-- 64,64. "I'm slowing up already," Henman said, smiling. maMary Pierce, a two-tim- e jor champion enjoying a bit of a renaissance at 29, lost in the fourth round to No. 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova (5), Kuznetsova plays No. 1 Justine or No. 14 a Petrova next. Asagoe upset No. 29 Eleni Daniilidou 6 (4), 4-- 63, makOpen ing her the lowest-ranke- d ; quarterfinalisf since Wflfiams 6-- 7-- 6 Na-di- Henin-Harden- 7-- , WILLENSAssociated KATHY Lindsay Davenport reacts after defeating Venus Williams was 66th in her 1997 debut. "I'm really disappointed (about) all this year's Grand Slams. But I've learned that the position that I'm in is not necessarily my fault," Williams said. "I can't be hard on myself . I have to take my time and real; ize that it's just a matter of time before I'm playing my best." She brought her level up by a lot in that fantastic final game, with Davenport serving at 54. Williams also raised the volume, grunting louder and louder with each shot, a sharp contrast to Davenport's soft exhales. Davenport played impeccably until then, never facing a break point and trailing on her serve 7--5, 6-- 4 at the U.S. Open on Monday. just once: at Iove-1-5 in the second set's fourth game, which she opened by sailing a backhand long. And she broke Williams twice, for a &5 lead in the first set, and 2 in the second. In the final game, they went back and forth, with Williams swatting two winners to get her first break point, wasted with a forehand return long. On the first match point, a exchange ended with Williams striking a cross-couforehand winner. Davenport ceded her second match point then turned by double-faultinher back to the net and chatted to herself. 3-- rt g, Press "I felt OK until I lost the second match point," Davenport said. "Then you get a little like: 'Oh, no. Don't do this."' There was more, including a forehand sailed long on match point No. 3, and Williams' brilliant cross-couforehand passing winner to erase No. 4. Eventually, though, Williams floating a forehand return long on No. 5. "Definitely had the buzz of a bigger match than a roundof-1- 6 match. They were definitely into it there at the end," Davenport said, referring to the " a crowds "I certainly dont want to have aletdcfwfcfHiw?""" ; Men Fourth Round I Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Andrei Pavel (16), Romania. I Tim Henman (5), Britain, def. Nicolas Kiefer (19), Germany, 6-- 7 6-6-- 7 (4), 30. (5), 6-I Andre Agassi (6), United States, def. Sargis Sargsian, A6-6-rmenia, 6-I Dominik Hrbaty (22), Slovakia, def. Olivier Rochus, Belgium, 2-6, 3$, 63, 64, 60. rt Women . Fourth Round I Shinobu Asagoe, Japan, def. Eleni Daniilidou (29), Greece, 6 (4), 46,6-3- . I Svetlana Kuznetsova (9), Russia, def. Mary Pierce (27), A France, (5), 6-United MMwQavBjrti&) States, def. Venus Williams d, 7-- 7-- 6 (UMJnited States, 7-- 64! Mho) altUe Fffcsff JHayoffi Game General admission tickets are usually $6.00 but you can pick them up at the Dally. Herald, 1555 North Freedom Boulevard for A ". I UUU great night for the entire family! ctart tn tha nlotftff eoiiertn frr tha Droiio Annalc with LOTS of giveaways and discounted prices at the gift shop. If ' -- ; '. t ho VAill Sk in root - ., , ,.- ' " .., - WW. ; t r LOJU The Daily Herald Ntwtpapw - '. (' R A ) r ' ..ithis ticket can be used for the game on Sept 9th (ifpL; And . ' ; , at Wimbledon. e showdown Another is looming in the men's quarterfinals: Andre Agassi vs. Roger Federer.'Agassi owns eight mad jor titles, while the Federer has won three of the past five. Agassi advanced Monday 2 with a victory over pal and occasional practice part-ner Sargis Sargsian, who was on court for nearly 10 hours in his previous two outings. This one was so lopsided, it took just Howard Fendrich V 4'" ! , f. -- Ja' - .4'. 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