Tennis: Davenport's tour de force

Tennis: Davenport's tour de force

Lindsay Davenport, saying aggression was the major element in her play, has powered her way by Anna Kournikova in the quarter-finals of the Bausch and Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Florida. The American Davenport, clipping the lines with her powerful groundstrokes, beat the 16-year-old Russian 7-5, 6-3. Davenport, who won the Bausch and Lomb last year, said she had added incentive to play well because she was facing Kournikova. Davenport said she had the support of the other tour members. "I don't think any player on tour wants to lose to Anna ever," Davenport said. "That's incentive right there, in knowing some of the other players are pulling for you to win. I didn't want to let them down." The defending champion Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden upset second-seed Todd Woodbridge of Australia on Saturday with his powerful forehand winners and stormed into the final of the Gold Flake Open in Madras. The fifth-seeded Tillstrom took less than an hour to outplay Woodbridge in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Zimbabwe's Byron Black battled through to the final of the 340,000 (pounds 230,000) Hong Kong Open with a three-set win over Canada's Sebastien Lareau. Black saved three match points in a gruelling tussle which lasted two hours and 40 minutes before he won 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 at Hong Kong's Victoria Park Stadium. Black meets Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen, who is still searching for his first ATP-Tour title win after more than six years as a professional, was too strong for an off-form Thomas Johansson. Carlsen, the eighth seed, brushed aside his Swedish opponent 6-2, 6-2 and is now hoping to end his long barren run.