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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Teen Stars Overcome Elements

Associated Press

Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport, teenagers in a rush to win a Grand Slam title, fought the wind and beat the rain Saturday to surge into the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Hingis, a 15-year-old from Switzerland, equaled her best Grand Slam performance so far with a 6-1, 6-1 romp over Mana Endo, who had ousted No. 5 Kimiko Date.

Hingis reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open last September and played well over the last few months to give her the confidence that she can beat anyone. Against Endo, a player of modest talent, Hingis popped up endless moonballs, reminiscent of Tracy Austin, and finished off rallies with line-drive winners.

The 10th-seeded Davenport, a 19-year-old from Southern California, had an unusually difficult time disposing of Finland’s Nanne Dahlman 6-4, 7-5. Dahlman, ranked 109, hit more winners than Davenport but also made more errors in the whipping wind.

Hingis and Davenport, playing under dark gray clouds, barely finished before heavy rain suspended play on the outside courts for about 3-1/2 hours. Strong gusts of wind played havoc with shots during those women’s matches, blowing plastic bags and other trash onto the courts.

In just a few minutes, the temperature dropped from 84 degrees to 61.

“It was some of the worst conditions I have played in,” Davenport said. “It was so windy, and then all of a sudden it just got so cold in, like, five seconds, and the wind shifted.”

Play on Center Court was suspended more than an hour while the retractable roof was closed for the first time so that No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia could finish his 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Australian Michael Tebbutt.

Women’s No. 2 Conchita Martina of Spain also had the benefit of playing without the wind as she beat German teen Jana Kandarr 6-3, 6-0 under the roof.

In a match interrupted by rain on an outside court, MaliVai Washington reached the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mauricio Hadad of Colombia.

Once the domain of teenagers in braces, women’s tennis has been ruled recently by players in their 20s - Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Conchita Martinez, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Gabriela Sabatini. And it wasn’t too long ago that 30-something Martina Navratilova won her ninth Wimbledon and played the final for her 10th.

All those players started out on the tour as teenagers and, except for Navratilova, met success early. Graf turned pro at 13, Seles at 15. But the rules changed last year, after Hingis turned pro, raising the minimum age to 15 and restricting the number of tournaments they can play until 18.

That may be good for the young players, good for the older ones and good for the game, but it’s left a yawning gap between those on the rise and those well established. Of the 16 players left, the only seeded teens are Davenport, No. 7 Iva Majoli, and No. 13 Chanda Rubin.

Two years ago, Davenport scored one of her first big Grand Slam victories here, beating two-time finalist Mary Joe Fernandez on Court 1, where Davenport played Saturday.

Since then, though, Davenport has never gone beyond the quarters in a major, getting that far only twice again - at Wimbledon in 1994 and in the Australian last year.

Hingis, unseeded with a No. 19 ranking, believes she could be somewhere between 10 and 15 if she were playing more often.

“I can beat good players,” she said, “but not all the time.”