Davenport loses to Bartoli in third round
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Local favourite Lindsay Davenport slipped out of the US Open in the third round, outpaced and outplayed 6-1, 7-6 by former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli.
In a match interrupted by rain, the former world number one and 1998 champion struggled to get a foothold against the French 12th seed and was plagued by double faults.
Davenport, a three-times grand slam champion who returned to action just three months after the birth of her son Jagger in June 2007, was roared on by the crowd packed into the Arthur Ashe Stadium court but Bartoli dominated the match.
She broke 23rd seed Davenport's serve in the fourth game before running away with the first set. Bartoli kept up the momentum by breaking again in the first game of the second.
Davenport, 32, clawed back to level the set at 5-5 but then threw away her service game with a string of double faults. In the ensuing tie break, Davenport's serve let her down again and Bartoli clinched it 7-3.
-Reuters
