Davenport Retakes No. 1 WTA Ranking

Posted on October 15, 2004

With the Big Four in Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters and the Williams sisters alternating injuries this year, the No. 1 ranking has been up for grabs. First the slam-less Amelie Mauresmo ascended to the throne, now Lindsay Davenport has returned to the top spot.

The No. 2-seeded Davenport defeated Russian (WC) Dinara "Little Sis" Safina Thursday at the WTA stop in Moscow, retaking the No. 1 ranking for the first time since Jan. 2002.

"Of course I'm excited but I would like to be able to keep going and win the tournament as a new No. 1," Davenport said.

This will be (come Monday when the rankings are released) the fifth different time Davenport has held the No. 1 spot, coming up on a total of 38 weeks. She first rose to No. 1 in Oct. 1998.

Other winners in second round action were (3) Anastasia Myskina (d. countrywoman Likhovtseva, winning 6-0 in the third), (5) Elena Dementieva (d. (Q) Mamic), and (7) Venus Williams (feeding a bagel to (WC) Douchevina).

Friday's quarterfinals in Moscow line up as Bovina vs. (7) Venus, (4) Kuznetsova vs. (5) Dementieva in an all-Russian rematch of the US Open final, (6) Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva vs. (3) Myskina in an all-Russian, and Schiavone vs. (2) Davenport.