Davenport confident
by Bren O'Brien
Saturday, January 17, 2004</I>
Women's No.5 seed Lindsay Davenport believes she will be fully fit for Australian Open 2004, despite suffering a shoulder injury that forced her out of the adidas International.
Davenport was forced to withdraw from her semi-final clash with Justin Henin-Hardenne in Sydney, but she said that with continued treatment plus rest she would be ready to take on Romanian veteran Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie in the first round at Melbourne Park.
"It's pretty good," the 2000 Australian Open champion said of her injury on Saturday. "I haven't done much since yesterday morning when I woke and it was pretty sore and tight. I just got some treatment now and I think it is a lot better, even from yesterday."
The injury has effected Davenport's preparations and she admitted she wouldn't be practicing her serve in the lead-up to her first Grand Slam match of the new year.
"I'm not going to try to hit until probably later on [Sunday] if I play Monday, or on Monday if I play Tuesday but I anticipate it to heal in time for the start."
The 27-year-old - the only previous winner remaining in the women's draw - didn't believe the injury was serious enough to warrant asking Australian Open officials to give her special consideration to ensure she didn't play until Tuesday.
"I'm not going to worry about it. I feel like some other players have injuries more severe and are under a bigger threat of withdrawal. A strained muscle is not something to make a big deal about. I'm just going to play when they tell me to."
Davenport said she would monitor the shoulder problem throughout the tournament to minimise any long-term effects.
"It's something I'm going to have to keep a good eye on as long as I'm here and competing," she said.
"There's a great chance it might recover and not be an issue. I'm going to have to serve well, so I have to have my shoulder at 100 per cent if I am going to have any chance of winning this or doing well. I'm going to have to do my best to get it better the whole fortnight."
Shoulder soreness aside, Davenport said she felt rejuvenated in 2004 after electing to miss the season-ending WTA Tour Championships for the first time in ten years and undergo surgery to remove a neuroma in her foot on October 15.
"The foot has been so great, if I had known the surgery was going to be so successful I probably would have done it sooner," she said.
"It's just amazing that after you've played with it bothering you for so many months you forget what its like to be 100 per cent. It's been a lot more fun to practice in December and play the last few weeks without having to worry about it."
"It recovered faster than I thought it would. I was actually back doing some light jogging within about four weeks, I was excited about how the process went. It was a lot easier in hindsight than I thought it would be."
With those problems behind her, Davenport said there was every reason to expect that 2004 will be her most successful year to date.
"I think my shoulder will improve, I think in the last few weeks I've played the best tennis I've played in a very long time and I'm really excited that I'm able to improve on some stuff and hopefully to get my form to stay the same, if not get better."
by Bren O'Brien
Saturday, January 17, 2004</I>
Women's No.5 seed Lindsay Davenport believes she will be fully fit for Australian Open 2004, despite suffering a shoulder injury that forced her out of the adidas International.
Davenport was forced to withdraw from her semi-final clash with Justin Henin-Hardenne in Sydney, but she said that with continued treatment plus rest she would be ready to take on Romanian veteran Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie in the first round at Melbourne Park.
"It's pretty good," the 2000 Australian Open champion said of her injury on Saturday. "I haven't done much since yesterday morning when I woke and it was pretty sore and tight. I just got some treatment now and I think it is a lot better, even from yesterday."
The injury has effected Davenport's preparations and she admitted she wouldn't be practicing her serve in the lead-up to her first Grand Slam match of the new year.
"I'm not going to try to hit until probably later on [Sunday] if I play Monday, or on Monday if I play Tuesday but I anticipate it to heal in time for the start."
The 27-year-old - the only previous winner remaining in the women's draw - didn't believe the injury was serious enough to warrant asking Australian Open officials to give her special consideration to ensure she didn't play until Tuesday.
"I'm not going to worry about it. I feel like some other players have injuries more severe and are under a bigger threat of withdrawal. A strained muscle is not something to make a big deal about. I'm just going to play when they tell me to."
Davenport said she would monitor the shoulder problem throughout the tournament to minimise any long-term effects.
"It's something I'm going to have to keep a good eye on as long as I'm here and competing," she said.
"There's a great chance it might recover and not be an issue. I'm going to have to serve well, so I have to have my shoulder at 100 per cent if I am going to have any chance of winning this or doing well. I'm going to have to do my best to get it better the whole fortnight."
Shoulder soreness aside, Davenport said she felt rejuvenated in 2004 after electing to miss the season-ending WTA Tour Championships for the first time in ten years and undergo surgery to remove a neuroma in her foot on October 15.
"The foot has been so great, if I had known the surgery was going to be so successful I probably would have done it sooner," she said.
"It's just amazing that after you've played with it bothering you for so many months you forget what its like to be 100 per cent. It's been a lot more fun to practice in December and play the last few weeks without having to worry about it."
"It recovered faster than I thought it would. I was actually back doing some light jogging within about four weeks, I was excited about how the process went. It was a lot easier in hindsight than I thought it would be."
With those problems behind her, Davenport said there was every reason to expect that 2004 will be her most successful year to date.
"I think my shoulder will improve, I think in the last few weeks I've played the best tennis I've played in a very long time and I'm really excited that I'm able to improve on some stuff and hopefully to get my form to stay the same, if not get better."