Serena, Davenport to meet in Aussie Final
By John Pye (Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-28 13:45

Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport both know how it feels to be on top of the tennis world, winning Grand Slam titles and being ranked No. 1. They also know the frustrations of injuries and inconsistency; Davenport even spoke seriously about retiring last season.

Lindsay Davenport, of the United States, top seed, waves to the crowd after defeating Nathalie Dechy, of France, 19th seed, in their womens singles semifinal match at the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005. Davenport won the match, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. Davenport will play compatriot Serena Williams in the final. [AP]

Now, after both were on the brink of elimination in the Australian Open semifinals, one of them will leave Melbourne Park with the title.

"We both want to win so bad," Williams said Friday. "I want to hold up the trophy."

For Williams, it would be a seventh Grand Slam singles title, her first since Wimbledon in 2003 — when she ended her run of five championships in six majors.

Her win here in 2003 gave her a run of four consecutive major titles.

"It's a different feeling now," she said. "At that point, I really wanted to win four in a row. I don't want it to stop here."

She's never doubted her place in tennis, and shrugged off criticism that she and sister Venus are in decline with an angry response outlining the injuries they've endured and the emotional upheaval caused by the shooting death of another sister in September 2003.

"We're not declining. I don't have to win this tournament to prove anything," she said. "I know that I'm one of the best players out here."

That was before her semifinal win over Maria Sharapova, when she saved three match points and twice broke serve when the No. 4-ranked Sharapova tried to close out the match.

Williams apparently decided as she plucked her racket strings, trying to figure out how to correct a backfiring forehand against Sharapova, that the only way to silence critics was by winning.

Serena Williams jumps for joy after winning match point against Maria Sharapova. Williams and Lindsay Davenport set up an Australian Open showdown after fighting back from the brink of defeat in two epic semi-final duels.[AFP]

"Those are always the best wins, when you're down match point, because you realize that you can't give up," said Williams. She saved match points against Kim Clijsters in the semifinal here two years ago before advancing and beating Venus in the final.

The 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 semifinal win over Sharapova was more than just revenge against the 17-year-old Russian, who ended Williams' 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon with a straight sets win in the final and later defeated her again at the WTA Championships.

"Honestly, I feel like I need every match," she said. "I definitely think it was a good win for me. But I don't think I would go back and be like, 'Oh, I played so awesome. I won this.' I really think there's so much I can do to improve."

She's on a 13-match winning streak at Melbourne. She skipped her title defense in 2004 because of a knee injury.

Davenport, 28, announced at Wimbledon last year that she'd probably retire after the U.S. Open.

She changed her mind after surging up the rankings to No. 1, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

But she did it without winning a major — her last was here in 2000 — and in the absence of injured Belgians Justine Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters, and with the Williams sisters spending periods out with injuries.

Close

Safin beats Federer at Australian Open Tennis star: Serena Williams Sharapova beats Kuznetsova

Today's Top News     Top Sports News
Nonstop charter flights to start tomorrow         World leaders remember Auschwitz liberation         Lenovo: IBM deal on despite challenges         Blood bank for pandas on the way         List of bribers helps corruption battle         "Shocking" number of students TB positive	Safin ends Federer's 26-game win streak       Bryant lawyers: accuser, papers reach deal       Martins earns Inter 1-0 Cup win over Atalanta       "We had Chelsea rattled": Giggs       Li Tie fears eased       Ronaldo applauds Owen goals