Davenport, Sharapova Beat Hurricane Conditions at Indian Wells
Posted on March 15, 2005World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport defeated three opponents Monday at the WTA stop in Indian Wells -- the swirling wind, blowing sand/dust, and No. 27-seeded fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to advance into the round of 16.
"It was tough," said Davenport, who stopped during the match to get the sand out of her eyes on numerous occasions. "You know, I thought it was tough in the beginning, and the third set it was the worst it had been the whole match. It's no fun to play like that. I mean, the spectators, it's tough on them. It's tough especially on the players. But especially here, you get the dust blowing around. It was not fun."
No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova also dealt with the gusty conditions in blowing past fellow Russian and No. 25 seed Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3.
"(The wind) was very unexpected because in practice it wasn't that bad," Sharapova said. "But when you got on the court, on the stadium, it wasn't like it was in one direction. It was moving around."
Two 16-year-old wildcards continued the youth movement Monday with upsets in the Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutuzova (d. (17) Frazier) and American Jessica Kirkland (d. countrywoman Craybas).
Other seeded winners on the day were (6) Nadia Petrova (d. (31) Raymond from a set down), (7) Nathalie Dechy (d. (29) Stosur 7-6 in the third), (19) Fabiola Zuluaga (d. (13) Hantuchova), and (20) Mary Pierce (d. Vaidisova).
Scheduled for Tuesday in IW are (14) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin vs. (4) Dementieva, (3) Maria "Grunt-o-meter" Sharapova vs. (19) Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga, (1) Davenport vs. the 16-year-old (WC) Kutuzova, (5) Kuznetsova vs. (Q) Fujiwara, (Q) Kirilenko vs. (23) Martinez, Clijsters vs. (30) Linetskaya, and (WC) Jessica "Captain" Kirkland vs. (7) Dechy.
"It was tough," said Davenport, who stopped during the match to get the sand out of her eyes on numerous occasions. "You know, I thought it was tough in the beginning, and the third set it was the worst it had been the whole match. It's no fun to play like that. I mean, the spectators, it's tough on them. It's tough especially on the players. But especially here, you get the dust blowing around. It was not fun."
No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova also dealt with the gusty conditions in blowing past fellow Russian and No. 25 seed Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3.
"(The wind) was very unexpected because in practice it wasn't that bad," Sharapova said. "But when you got on the court, on the stadium, it wasn't like it was in one direction. It was moving around."
Two 16-year-old wildcards continued the youth movement Monday with upsets in the Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutuzova (d. (17) Frazier) and American Jessica Kirkland (d. countrywoman Craybas).
Other seeded winners on the day were (6) Nadia Petrova (d. (31) Raymond from a set down), (7) Nathalie Dechy (d. (29) Stosur 7-6 in the third), (19) Fabiola Zuluaga (d. (13) Hantuchova), and (20) Mary Pierce (d. Vaidisova).
Scheduled for Tuesday in IW are (14) Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin vs. (4) Dementieva, (3) Maria "Grunt-o-meter" Sharapova vs. (19) Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga, (1) Davenport vs. the 16-year-old (WC) Kutuzova, (5) Kuznetsova vs. (Q) Fujiwara, (Q) Kirilenko vs. (23) Martinez, Clijsters vs. (30) Linetskaya, and (WC) Jessica "Captain" Kirkland vs. (7) Dechy.