Davenport reaches quarterfinal round

After breezing in the first set, she struggled to beat Nadia Petrova.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Lindsay Davenport hunched over with her hands on her head, in the most trouble yet at the U.S. Open -- and her problems had little to do with her ailing foot.
Davenport, extended to three sets for the first time in the tournament, defeated hard-serving Russian Nadia Petrova 6-0, 6-7 (6), 6-2 Sunday to reach the quarterfinals.
The third-seeded Davenport, the only former Open champion in the field, spent 1 hour, 52 minutes on the court in the fourth-round match. She had won her first three matches in less than three hours.
"Gosh, it was tough," she said. "I started off playing the first set so well, exactly how I wanted to play. As the match wore on, I got less aggressive. I'm just happy to pull it out. I should have probably won it in the second set."
No. 24 Paola Suarez won her fourth-round match against Elena Likhovtseva, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Suarez had beaten the Russian only once in five previous meetings.
Davenport's body language gave it all away: The woman with the most hard court wins of all time was uncomfortable with her game. She even threw her racket to the ground, though it bounced back up into her hand.
After breezing through the opening set in 22 minutes, Davenport began having trouble with the No. 19 Petrova's serve, which consistently came in at 106 mph or more. Her own serve failed her, too.
There were four straight games in the second set when neither player held serve. After breaking back to close within 5-4, Davenport held for 5-5. In the tiebreaker, she led 5-2 before Petrova tied it at 5. Petrova made it 6-5 when Davenport's second serve clipped the net and sailed long.
Davenport saved two set points before Petrova finished it. Davenport had more unforced errors than winners, 33-22.
Lingering toe injury
Late in the third set, Davenport limped to the sideline for the final changeover, clearly bothered by the lingering nerve problem in the toes of her left foot. After the final point, she slowly made her way to the net to shake hands, then smiled and gave a friendly wave to the energetic crowd.
This kind of test is exactly what Davenport hoped to avoid during the first week. It will be interesting to see how she holds up from here. The foot will require surgery after the Open.
The crowd stuck by her through the struggles.
A tiny group of fans hollered "Let's go Lindsay," and nearly everyone in Arthur Ashe Stadium participated in the ensuing clapping.