Davenport easily defeats Asagoe at US Open
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-09 09:12

Lindsay Davenport is two victories from a second US Open title and the No 1 ranking. After waiting out a day of rain, Davenport beat Shinobu Asagoe of Japan 6-1, 6-1 in just 46 minutes Wednesday to reach the Open's semifinals in a match that began with about 100 people in the stands at 9,645-capacity Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Lindsay Davenport of the United States hits a return to Shinobu Asagoe of Japan during their quarterfinal match at the 2004 US Open in New York, September 8, 2004. [Reuters]

They were supposed to start at 11 am in Arthur Ashe Stadium, but steady showers delayed the beginning until 7:29 pm. That forced organizers to shift the schedule, with four quarterfinals — two men's and two women's — in action simultaneously around the National Tennis Center.

Davenport won the first four games of the match, then went ahead 3-0 in the second set. She finished with a 16-3 edge in winners and never faced a break point while extending her winning streak to 22 matches.

Next door, only about a dozen spectators were on hand while No 5 Tim Henman and No 22 Dominik Hrbaty warmed up for their quarterfinal. The biggest showdown of the day, between two-time champion Andre Agassi and No 1 Roger Federer, began with only about a third of the 23,239 seats filled by fans with parkas, hats and umbrellas.

Davenport's three Grand Slam titles include the 1998 US Open, and she is trying to become the first woman to go six years between championships at the same major.

She won four consecutive hard-court tuneup tournaments before coming to Flushing Meadows. If she captures the Open title, Davenport would move up from No 4 in the rankings replace 2003 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, who lost to Nadia Petrova in the fourth round. Otherwise, Amelie Mauresmo will take the top spot.

Davenport, who already had brief stays at No 1, in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002, waited out the rain delay by taking a nap.

Once she was on court, she was wide awake, completely dominating No 62 Asagoe, the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist at the Open since No 66 Venus Williams made it all the way to the final in her Open debut at age 17.

Davenport has made it to at least the semifinals at the Open seven of the past eight years.

Only two dozen people made the trek across the grounds to Court 11 for the start of the quarterfinal between No 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No 14 Petrova. It was so empty that when Petrova slapped the strings of her racket after a missed shot, it sounded like a violin — it was that easy to hear.

Stan Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Thrashers, was among those watching the two Russian women play.

"It's like when you go scout a kid at a high school game or in the summer leagues, there aren't a whole lot of people there," he said. "It's an interesting environment to see a match that means so much."

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