Davenport avoids upset

PARIS – Frustrated by the French clay and a Chinese teenager, Lindsay Davenport glared at her racket, muttered, clenched her teeth and then mounted a comeback.

Twice two points from defeat, the top-ranked Davenport won 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0 Wednesday against 19-year-old Shuai Peng in the second round at the French Open.

“I definitely got lucky and escaped one today,” Davenport said.

The close call wasn’t a shocker: Davenport also struggled in her opening match and rarely plays well at Roland Garros, the only major event she has yet to win. She last reached the quarterfinals in 1999.

“This is going to be my toughest two-week tournament, however long I last,” Davenport said. “I don’t expect to reach for the stars here. It’s hard for me to move well on clay.”

While Davenport averted an upset, the match nonetheless offered the latest evidence of China’s emerging tennis talent. A year ago in Paris, Jie Zheng became the first Chinese woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam event.

No. 11-seeded Venus Williams beat Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, continuing a trend of tight women’s matches. Defending champion Anastasia Myskina was upset on the first day, and Davenport and No. 2 Maria Sharapova won their opening matches in split sets. That was the first time in the Open era that the two top-seeded women were taken to three sets in the first round at a Grand Slam event.

Not every match was close. No. 14 Kim Clijsters, a two-time runner-up, advanced to the third round by drubbing Ludmila Cervanova 6-2, 6-1. No. 21 Mary Pierce, the 2000 champion, defeated Jelena Kostanic 6-1, 6-0.

Among men, top-ranked Roger Federer improved to 43-2 this year by beating Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-2. Federer’s biggest obstacle to his first French title may be No. 4 Rafael Nadal, who extended his winning streak to 19 matches by beating Xavier Malisse 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal next plays fellow 18-year-old Richard Gasquet of France, who beat Peter Wessels 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-1.