Tags:
Journalism of Courage
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, April 4: There’s almost nobody left to upset in the Family Circle after top-seeded Lindsay Davenport wasted three match points to lose to Irina Spirlea.
Monica Seles, the third seed, almost followed Davenport down, surviving three match points in a third-set tiebreaker yesterday to beat Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).
Davenport joins second-seeded Jana Novotna, No. 5 Mary Pierce, No. 7 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and No. 9 Conchita Martinez as some of the game’s biggest draws dumped before the semifinals.
Only Seles and No. 4 Amanda Coetzer, who was to play qualifier Andrea Glass last night, remained alive for the final rounds. Earlier, Lisa Raymond defeated Magui Serna of Spain 6-4, 6-1.
NBC and ticket holders had to be counting on Davenport, an American ranked second in the world, battling Seles, the former juggernaut of women’s tennis, on coast-to-coast television before a sellout stadium-court crowd today.
At least Seles made it through to face Spirlea, although it wasn’teasy. Schnyder led in games 5-2 and had two match points at 5-4 in the third set before Seles forced a tiebreaker. Schnyder went up 6-3 but Seles matched Spirlea’s feat and won five straight points.
