Lindsay Davenport will try to continue her summer-long streak of success on hard courts in suburban Cincinnati next week. The fourth-ranked Davenport has committed to play in the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, which begins on Monday at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.The fourth-ranked Davenport, who has responded to retirement reports with a Renaissance season, has claimed a WTA Tour-best five tournament titles on the year, including successive championships at Stanford, Los Angeles and San Diego to solidify her status as a top contender for the U.S. Open, which begins on August 30th. "Lindsay is rested after winning at San Diego, Stanford and Los Angeles this summer, and a semifinal run at Wimbledon," said tournament director Bruce Flory. "She's not playing the Olympics, and she's looking forward to being here."
The 28-year-old Davenport, who owns a 47-6 record on the season, joins world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva, Amy Frazier and Jill Craybas in the 30-woman field.
The main draw of the 2004 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, the only WTA Tour event in the Midwest, will be held August 16th-22nd.
The qualifying event for the tournament will be held on August 14 & 15th. The ceremony to place the players into the main draw will be open to anyone with a ticket to the qualifying matches on August 14th at noon in the food court. Tickets to the qualifying are as low as $5, free for kids 14-and-under. For tickets or more information, please call the tournament office at (513) 651-0303 or TicketMaster at (513) 562-4949, or visit The Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open web site.