Davenport and Seles send US to Fed Cup final

Davenport and Seles send US to Fed Cup final
Agencies

Las Vegas, November 23: World No 2 Lindsay Davenport outlasted 18th-ranked Kim Clijsters 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3 here on Wednesday and the defending champion United States defeated Belgium to secure a Fed Cup Finals berth.

Australian Open champion Davenport’s triumph combined with No 4 Monica Seles downing 48th-ranked Justine Henin 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 to ensure a team triumph in the best-of-three semi-final matchup.

The Americans will face Spain in a best-of-five championship series on Friday and day after their sixth meeting in the Fed Cup Final. The US team beat Spain in 1989 and 1996 while Spain downed the Americans in 1991, 1994 and 1995.

Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Davenport surrendered a service break to Clijsters in the ninth game of the second set off a forehand winner by the 17-year-old prodigy, who held serve to force the final set.

But Davenport needed only five points to take a break on Clijsters’ first service game of the third set for a 2-0 lead. The American held serve the rest of the way for the victory.

In the first-set tie-breaker, Davenport hit a forehand winner and Clijsters netted a backhand to give the American three set points. Davenport sent a forehand wide but won when Clijsters netted another backhand.

Nine-time Grand Slam champion Seles, in her first match with the 18-year-old Belgian, squandered a 5-0 first-set edge when distracted by intestinal cramps.

‘‘I haven’t had diarrhea in ages so it was just really strange,’’ Seles said. ‘‘At 4-0 I just had to go to the bathroom. She started playing well and all of a sudden it was 5-all’’.

Seles broke Henin’s first two service games to seize a 5-0 lead in the first set, saving four break points on her own service in the fifth game. But Henin won her next 10 service points in a row and broke Seles twice to level at 5-5.

Henin had a break point in the 11th. But the Belgian waffled, netting a forehand to let Seles escape.

That set the stage for the lopsided tie-breaker. Seles hit two service winners and a backhand winner on her way to a 6-0 lead while Henin netted three backhands including the last point.

Seles broke in the third game of set two when Henin hit a backhand long and seized a 5-2 lead by breaking her again on a backhand winner. Seles ended it after 97 minutes on her first match point opportunity with a service winner.