Davenport commits to Fed Cup in Las Vegas

Victoria Sun

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 10:09 a.m.

When the top four United States women's tennis players have joined together to represent their country, they have been unstoppable.

In the 1999 Federation Cup final, the team of Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams and Monica Seles destroyed Russia 4-1.

At this year's Olympics in Sydney, Venus Williams won the gold medal in singles and teamed with younger sister Serena to win the gold in doubles. Seles returned home with a bronze in singles.

At least one of those four, Lindsay Davenport, will be in Las Vegas Nov. 21-25 to help the U.S. team defend its Fed Cup crown at Mandalay Bay.

"I'm very happy to say Lindsay Davenport is going to be on the team and I'm hopeful we can get Venus and Serena," U.S. assistant team captain Zina Garrison said Thursday. "The good thing is we can get Lindsay.

"Knowing that she is going to come back and represent her country is a great feeling. Lindsay is a huge draw in the States. She's had a good year even though she has had some injuries."

Davenport currently is the world's second-ranked player in singles. The reigning Australian Open champion and finalist at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open recently withdrew from Olympic competition, rendering her unable to defend her 1996 gold medal, when she incurred what was thought to be a stress fracture in her left foot. An MRI later revealed it was only tendinitis.

The other players have until Nov. 11 to commit to play.

"We're hopeful they will commit very soon," Garrison said.

The Fed Cup final will feature the U.S., Spain, Belgium and the Czech Republic playing on an indoor facility.

The semifinals will be Sept. 21 and 22 with the finals set for Sept. 24 and 25. Seeding will be determined later.

Clearly, the Spanish team headed by sixth-ranked Conchita Martinez and No. 9 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario seems to poses the biggest problem for the U.S. The Belgians won't be as dangerous now that Dominique Van Roost, the world's 18th-ranked player, has retired.

Garrison, who holds a 22-5 Fed Cup record and was a member of the 1986, 1989 and 1990 championship teams, would not say the Americans should be favored.

"The thing about Fed Cup is you are playing for your country, you never know," she said. "You can never put Arantxa or Conchita out of the running because they have a lot of experience.

"And I (watched) Arantxa play Venus at the Olympics, and she played a very smart match. Belgium, they're young and they have a lot of potential. Some people play better for their country than when they play for themselves."

Another factor will be the playing surface. The matches will be played on a supreme hard court.

"I think it's a very equalizing surface," Garrison said. "I think indoors is equalizing by itself.

"There is no sun and no wind to deal with. People come in ready to play because you know you're going to have to play."

Single session tickets -- $15, $35, $55 and $75 -- and series tickets are available through Ticketmaster outlets or the Mandalay box office (632-7580).