Davenport Beats Choking Clijsters to Gain Quarters at Wimbledon

World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, who last year was contemplating retirement with what looked like a potential career-ending foot injury, continued her run of rejuvenation Monday at Wimbledon, closing out Kim Clijsters in three tough sets 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 to advance into the quarterfinals.

"She wants it more than anyone out there, and I knew that," Davenport said. "I thought, 'OK, I'm not going to give in'..Pretty good, huh? I very rarely pat myself on the back."

Clijsters again struggled to keep her hands away from her throat in the late-goings, failing to take care of her serve three times in the third set, then for good measure ending the contest with the choker's calling card, the double fault.

"I just felt like -- because she was returning so well in my service games before, I really had to put a little bit more -- you know, a little bit more into my serves, and especially on the second serves," said Clijsters on her key doubles faults in the third set. "But that was probably wrong. It was. She puts you under so much pressure. From the moment you hit a second serve, you have to start running."

The loss gives Clijsters only one more chance in 2005 to end her career Slam-less streak.

Defending champ and No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova rolled into the quarters with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 16 Nathalie Dechy.

"It's so hard to compare it to last year because last year I was in a totally different situation," Sharapova said. "I was happy to be in the second week of a Grand Slam. This year I'm expecting myself to be in the second week of a Grand Slam."

In what was supposed to be a show-stopping all-Williams-sisters meeting in the 4th round, instead Venus had to be content with pounding American journeywoman Jill Craybas 6-0, 6-2.

"I just made a couple errors at the wrong time. She did hit some good shots. But, of course, my plan was to just break and hold again," Venus said of her hiccup at the beginning of the second set. "And I felt very in control."

No. 3 seed Amelie Mauresmo, with all the grasscourt skills to win Wimbledon save the nerve, steamrolled Russian No. 13 seed Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-0 to earn a meeting with another Russian, No. 9 Anastasia Myskina, who came back to defeat No. 6-seeded countrywoman Elena Dementieva 1-6, 7-6(9), 7-5.

"I think the beginning of the match was a little bit tough for me," Mauresmo said. "I couldn't really find my rhythm. I was staying a little bit too far from the baseline for being able to really produce an aggressive game."

Myskina, after getting over some initial choking in the first set, got down to business for the three-set win.

"Today I was really nervous at the beginning because we have, you know, really lot of matches against each other and we know each other really well, so I was thinking a lot during the point," Myskina said. "You know, I didn't know what really to do with the ball because the serve was too slowly (sic). I didn't really expect that. Then I get used to it for the rhythm, for the game, and realize that it's really nothing really special...her serve, it's really weak. You know, everybody know that."

Others into the quarters Monday were (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Maleeva 6-4, 6-3), (8) Nadia Petrova (d. Peschke 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 6-3), and (12) Mary Pierce (d. Pennetta 6-3, 6-1).

"I'm working really hard. Finally I'm able to work hard," Pierce said. "I've always worked hard. Just when I had my injuries, I wasn't obviously able to. I had to take time off. Then coming back from that took quite a long time until I was able to train normally for me...It's just actually just a gift from God, because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to play again."

Lining up for Tuesday in quarterfinal play are (3) Mauresmo vs. (9) Myskina (Mauresmo leads the career head-to-head 5-1 in the all-choker match-up), (12) Pierce vs. (14) Venus (Venus leads 6-3 with Pierce winning their most recent meeting last year at the Olympics), (2) Sharapova vs. (8) Petrova (the Global Icon leads 1-0), and (1) Davenport vs. (5) Kuznetsova (tied 1-1).

Mauresmo says that like many of the top men, she knows the key is to attack on the slick lawns and employ that skill that many of the top women lack -- the transition game and volley.

"I adjust my game to that surface -- some don't," Mauresmo said. "I like to think that playing on grass is going forwards, is serve and volley, return and volley sometimes. It's a mix of all of these things. Actually I'm enjoying doing that."