Posted by Abigail Lorge, TENNIS.com
Lindsay Davenport hopes her second child, a daughter due in mid-June, doesn't turn out to be a girly girl.
"Oh my God, that's my biggest fear," the Southern California native said when I caught her on the phone last week. "I don't wear makeup, I don't do my hair. It had better be a tomboy, because otherwise I don't know how I'm going to cope."
Coping was never an issue when the three-time Grand Slam singles champion was on the court. In a stellar professional career that saw her earn the year-end No. 1 ranking four times between 1998 and 2005, Davenport won the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open, as well as an Olympic gold medal in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She made the final of four other majors, losing to a Williams sister each time. Her gripping battle with Venus in the 2005 Wimbledon final -- Williams prevailed 9-7 in the third set after winning the second in a tiebreaker -- was one of the all-time great women's matches at the All-England Club.
But as the 10th anniversary of her Wimbledon victory approaches, Davenport, 32, says she doesn't often reflect back on momentous occasions like that 1999 final, in which she defeated Steffi Graf in straight sets.
"Unfortunately I have the mindset where I tend to remember the not-good moments and not the best moments," she said. "Last year was such a huge disappointment because I was training so hard and hurt my knee right before I left for England. I had to withdraw, and that's not a great memory to have."
The injury came a year after Davenport's remarkably successful return to tennis following the June 2007 arrival of her first child, son Jagger. Just three months after giving birth, she won a tournament in Bali; later in the season, she collected another title in Quebec. But this time around, although she has been doing light weightlifting and low-intensity cardio even into her third trimester, Davenport is not planning on a comeback. She said that when she was at Indian Wells last month (working as a commentator for Fox Sports Network), "the itch to compete was not there like it was two years ago."
The decision to retire actually preceded her second pregnancy. In Summer 2008 on tour, she struggled not only with the knee injury but also with being apart from her husband, former All-American tennis player Jon Leach, an investment banker whose work precludes him from traveling much.
"I remember being at the U.S. Open -- and this was before I lost -- and it was just so tough. I was like, I can't do this anymore," Davenport said. "I don't want to say I won't play one tournament sometime or play doubles. … But I'm certainly not coming back at all this year."
Although her own competitive days are behind her, Davenport said the news that Kim Clijsters is returning to the tour "gave me goose bumps." Clijsters, with whom Davenport often e-mails and texts, had consulted the American about combining pro tennis and motherhood.
"She doesn't want to do this job without her husband and daughter being able to go with her all the time," Davenport said of the 25-year-old Belgian, whose daughter, Jada, turned 1 in February. "She just wanted to make sure that the media demands weren't going to be overwhelming. I told her, 'I'm not going to lie -- I'm sure the first few tournaments, you're going to have a lot going on.' But everyone understands her priority is her family."
Davenport has no doubt her friend can return to the sport's highest level. "I think that at her age and her athleticism, she'll win a Slam. I really do." She also said that her own postpregnancy comeback, only months after Jagger's birth, was not analogous to Clijsters' situation, given that the Belgian plays a completely different style of tennis.
"Our games relied on two vastly different strengths. Mine was ballstriking and hitting winners," Davenport said. "I could play through not being as fit because I never relied on my foot speed, whereas she is so athletic and she's so fast. I think she'll be in a great position 18 months after her daughter's born."
Davenport said the timing of Clijsters' return is ideal, given the current climate of women's tennis. "Unfortunately, with Maria [Sharapova] being out for the last seven months or so, and the Williamses very particular with their schedule, there's not a whole lot of interest in the States with some of the other players coming up. So I think the more big names we can have coming back and doing well, and the more positive story lines, the better."
She cited Victoria Azarenka as one of those up-and-comers who has particularly impressed her. "I think she has a great game, and she's very cute and she's got a great personality and she's really nice," Davenport said of the Belarusian. "The extreme tennis fans know who she is, but the casual viewer doesn't necessarily know who she is. I think she's going to be a very big star."
It was a characteristically magnanimous assessment from Davenport, who despite staggering success remains appealingly approachable and self-effacing. She admits that the toddler classes to which she brings Jagger a few times a week "drive me crazy sometimes." And her relatively low number of professional commitments this spring means "I can gain my 50 pounds in peace."
And though her fans may miss seeing her on the court, bludgeoning the ball with her flat, powerful groundstrokes, it's hard to begrudge her the chance to focus full time on parenthood.
"I missed a lot last summer trying to play and traveling, and it really bummed me out," she said. "But I've spent every day with my son since he was 15 months, and it's been the greatest time. I'm really lucky."
