Davenport ignores pain, advances

MELBOURNE, Australia — Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport set up a quarterfinal match with Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Australian Open, overcoming left ankle pain and a second-set lapse to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday.

The eighth-seeded Henin-Hardenne beat Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-0, 6-3.

Davenport finished off Kuznetsova in 59 minutes, winning on her second match point.

The 2000 Australian Open winner swept through the first set in 18 minutes, losing only two points on her serve and breaking Kuznetsova twice.

In the second set, Davenport raced to a 3-0 lead before Kuznetsova rallied, reeling off four consecutive games.

During that time, a clearly frustrated Davenport sought treatment for her left ankle, asking the trainer to remove and replace heavy strapping. She twisted the ankle in her last match and her movement was hampered in the second set.

"I sprained it a little bit the other day," said Davenport, who finished with 15 winners and only nine unforced errors. "It was just a little bit swollen. ... I kind of jammed it on one shot. Hopefully, it will have a little time to get better."

Davenport, a finalist last year in the Australian and U.S. opens, said she is playing better now than she was in 2000, when she captured her last Grand Slam singles title at Melbourne Park.

"I feel like I'm playing some of my best tennis," Davenport said. "It's unfortunate that all the other girls are playing so much better. This is the highest level we've ever competed at."

Henin-Hardenne, the reigning French Open champion and 2004 Australian winner, lost five points on her serve in the first set against Ruano Pascual.

Ruano Pascual had never taken a set off Henin-Hardenne in their three previous matchups, and there was nothing different Sunday, with the Belgian dictating play.

Although she finished with 27 unforced errors — 20 in the second set — Henin-Hardenne also hit 28 winners to just one from Ruano Pascual.

Henin-Hardenne broke early in the second set, led 3-1, fended off two breakpoints at 3-2 and wrapped it up by breaking the Spaniard in the ninth game with a forehand pass.