Davenport Bobbles, Sharapova Into Semis at WTA Championships

On the same night WTA Championships promoters gave away free "bobblehead" likenesses of Lindsay Davenport, the world No. 1-ranked American bobbled her chances of perhaps advancing out of the semifinals and hanging on to the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Davenport lost Friday night in her second round robin match to French Open winner and No. 3 seed Anastasia Myskina 7-6(5), 6-4, putting her in a must-win situation today against the tutu-wearing Serena Williams.

After the match Davenport, perhaps due to the long season, rather than stoking her competitive fires had journalists looking for a pulse.

"If I finish the year two, it's been a great year," said Davenport, who spoke of retirement earlier this year after coming off foot surgery, but now says she will put in a full 2005 campaign. "If I finish one, great. If she plays well here and wins it, she absolutely deserves it."

Myskina also beat the American in their previous meeting last month in Moscow.

"I played her a couple of weeks ago, so the memory was pretty fresh. I knew what I had to do," said Myskina, who would have been eliminated from the semis with a loss. "I knew I had to move her around and she missed more forehands. When I first played her I was young and had huge respect. Now I know how to play the best players."

Serena needs only to win a set off of Davenport today to guarantee herself a spot in the semifinals, while the current world No. 1, depending on other results in her group, likely needs to beat Serena to advance to the semis.

"I probably have to win in two," Davenport said. "It's probably an uphill battle for myself."
In the other two matches on the night, No. 2-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, smelling blood in the water for her chance at the year-end No. 1 ranking, punished No. 4-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2, while No. 6 Maria Sharapova also upped her round record to 2-0 with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva 6-4, 7-5.

"I wasn't able to play my game," said Zvonareva, who finished the event with an 0-3 record. "The balls were so heavy. I hope I can come back next year and do better."

The wins secured semifinal berths for both Mauresmo and Sharapova.

On tap today are Davenport vs. Serena in an all-American (Serena leads meetings 9-3, but Davenport won their most recent encounter), Mauresmo vs. Sharapova in a first-time meeting, and Myskina vs. Dementieva in an all-Russian (Myskina leads 6-4, including both meetings in 2004).