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Deposed champion Lindsay Davenport has warned her Wimbledon rivals she wants
her title back and says: "I'm playing some of the best tennis of my life."
The 1999 All-England queen, who lost her crown to Venus Williams in last
year's final, displayed awesome power and quality to win the Britannic Asset
Management Championship, beating plucky little Spaniard 6-2 6-0 in just 43
minutes in the final at Eastbourne.
And the 25-year-old 6ft 2ins Californian, who started this week under the
cloud of a knee injury which had kept her out of action since the middle of
March, said: "I've got to be just ecstatic about going into Wimbledon now."
Davenport's blistering finish to pick up the £58,000 first prize on the
sun-baked South coast must have made her feel almost right at home in her native
Lugano Beach.
She has been turning up the heat all week after a cruising performance against
Frenchwoman Anne-Gaelle Sidot on Tuesday, a comeback from a set down to Italy's
Silvia Farina on Thursday and a semi-final pasting of compatriot Chanda Rubin
on Friday.
It was certainly too hot for 22-year-old left hander Serna who although
unseeded, dropped just one set in reaching the Eastbourne final and was in the
last eight at Wimbledon last year. She also names grass as her favourite
surface.
But the Barcelona girl admitted: "Lindsay was just too good. She beat me 6-1
6-0 at Wimbledon three years ago and looked just as good today. She serves well,
returns well, everything. Above all she's so tall and hits the ball so hard.
"I didn't play so well but then again I was hardly given a chance. I'm just
glad I've had a good week at Eastbourne."
Davenport, who scattered fears that her damaged knee was giving her more
trouble, said: "I just had the trainer come on between sets to tape it up again
because my sweat had made the cover come loose.
"I could play a match without the taped-support but my physio says it is
beneficial and so I'll carry on with it for a while.
"You never know what is going to happen when you come back off an injury. And
three months is the longest I'd ever been out during my career.
"But I've improved with every match here and the last six sets I've played
have been really high quality.
"It's just great to get back playing on grass which I love and winning a
title. It's more than just a warm-up for Wimbledon and if you could guarantee me
this weather I'd come and play here every year."
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