Ha--so much of a journeyman that we don't even remember his name correctly (Becker)!

So far, Lindsay has made a smooth transition into the broadcasting world. She did a good job for the Tennis Channel with Barry MacKay and Corina Morariu when the WTA played their championships in Doha.

I play in a small group tennis class with a gal that strikes the ball in a similar simple, clean way that Lindsay does-- I always expect my classmates balls to go flying out but they rarely do. They just land deep and bounce straight and low. I imagine Lindsay must've been a nightmare to play against at Wimby. I watched that final vs Venus, on live TV, and it's the most mentally tough I can remember Venus playing.

Thanks for the nice write up on Lindsay, Pete!

*hugs Pete for this post*

i just lurve Lindsay - and am always pleased to read something about her. didn't realize it was you Pete, who posed that retirement question to her, but remember reading it and thinking it was just SO Linds.

I think it would be great if she would continue to commentate, it would be such a nice relief to have her talking at us. She looked fabulous at IW, very relazed and happy. Sigh, so nice to see one of my favs obviously happy in her post-tennis life.

Interesting how she's so pointed about NOT revealing too much personal about the players. That's one thing she could prolly give Justin some pointers on, as he still seems to get a bit too excited about the fact he 'knows' the guys, and I don't know how many times I've cringed and thought, oh dear, justin, discretion y'know....

wasn't the wimbledon final against Venus in 2005? Good post on Lindsay, even though I've never warmed up to her...

Sonya,
Yes.

thanks for the nice write up about lindsay

i do miss her play, very nice, no gimmicks, just clean play

and you would never hear her say anything bad against the other players

i was saddened by her "retiring" again because of pregnancy, add to that my disappointment when she did not play at the olympics

anyhow, she made quite an accomplishment, so she would laways be remembered, i just hope she could play competitive tennis again, soon

"I think the match was really tough, if not the result," said Nadal. "In the beginning I was winning 4-1 but at the same time I could have been losing 4-1."

That's way too much credit to Soldering, who, of all the people in the tour, deserves it the least.

"I think I played really well. It was one of my best matches on clay this year or maybe even in my career."

What? Was Rafa feeling charitable on a beautiful night?

Apologies for the last post. Posted on the wrong blog article. Sorry.

in this pic of Lindsay- it looks like she has struck the ball and it's leaving her racquet and the racquet face is angled down a bit

has anyone else noticed pictures of Lindsay's forehand just Before she hits the ball- and the racquet face is tilted up? same with Sharapova.

Is this a Robert Lansdorp-taught method of ball striking?

This was great, Pete. I really enjoyed it. Nice quotes and insight into Lindsay, who I always pegged as a reluctant champion on some level. Because of the qualities you outline, I always found it a bit difficult to warm up to her as a player. I prefer players that "let me in" a bit more. But I admire her as a person and the way she has conducted herself throughout her career. She has always seemed mature and classy. All the best with your second baby, Lindsay!

This was fantastic, Peter. I do miss watching Lindsay play, i always thought that few players could hit the ball as clean as she did, with such pace and precision.
But its her class as a sportswoman and the great role model she is(was) in women's tour that i think people really appreciate most about Lindsay.
As i said, i really loved to watch her play, but is a huge relief knowing that she is still around.

I really enjoyed this profile of Lindsay. Did anyone ever notice that when players get married and start to have kids their games go south. I guess it has to do with getting older and changing priorities. So many examples, Lleyton, Roger, Kim

I've enjoyed Lindsay in the broadcast booth - I hope she sticks with it. She's so much better than Justin Gimelstob. She offers an interesting player perspective and does not pontificate like Gimelstob (e.g. Gimelstob's famous "Andy Murray is better on all surfaces than Nadal").

They may both be great off the court and off camera but clearly Lindsay is head and shoulders above Justin in front of the camera.

Nice post. I came to enjoy LD emmensley. She seems genuine and true to her self and fam.

I'd like to see more of her broadcasting too.

Thanks for writing a great piece on Lindsay. I think the title said it all. This is typical Lindsay I've been a huge fan for most of career and she did everything quietly why should her retirement be any different. Glad to see she's happy in her post tennis life.

I really enjoyed this piece about Lindsay. I often thought that if she had been able to get a 'positive attitude' transfusion from someone like Venus or Serena or Seles or Sanchez Vicario it would have done her even more good than getting leaner and more fit. She had such wonderful ground strokes and a terrific serve but was often undermined by slumped shoulders and a general negativity.

Hey Pete, Great article about Lindsay!! I do miss her, but I loved listening to her do commentary...I also wanted to say how much it meant to me that you used my quote last week...You have always been one of my favorite writers...so happy you enjoyed something I wrote...Hope you are feeling better...You have been in my prayers...

Bodo quote: "Evonne Goolagong.... maintains that the only adverse effect of having borne a child was an increased susceptibility to injury, although nobody could explain why that should be the case."

Pete, here's an explanation:

I'm a new mom too, and my doctor explained that pregnancy & birth is a huge drain on the mother's body -nutrients in the blood sustain the fetus, hormones alter/soften bone density to allow for the baby's passage at birth, body calcium is used up to produce milk. So in the first year after giving birth, the mother's body is understandably much weaker & therefore more susceptible to injury, especially under the rigors of the tennis tour. Even a fine physical specimen like Davenport or Clijsters would require much time, re-training & smart nutrition to recover what was depleted in the creation of a human being.

Nice post on Lindsay.
To me she was one of the cleanest ball strikers on the womens tour (certainly on par with Serena Williams). If you look at how badly Lindsay moved (compared to the top athletes out there) it just shows how much racket skill she had. I think that Pete is right about us not realizing fully what a prodigy she actually was.
And personality wise, she was definitely someone I was keen of - a very mature personality at a very young age. Good luck to Lindsay in the future.

Excellent post Pete. Good to see the WTA getting some much needed love. Lindsay was never really a favourite of mine, but I liked to see her play (does that make sense?). As others have posted she was a clean striker of the ball and there was not much wrong with her game when it was on. At first I never used to know what was meant by "clean striker of the ball" but after watching matches with Lindsay and seeing how she hits, I can now understand, especially, when you look at other women who make hitting their shots seem like such a task. I saw Lindsay during IW doing commentary and I have to say that pregnancy does become her.

O.T - Serena on HSN plugging her jewellery - not liking her outfit

Pete, I love articles about LD and there are much too few of them around. Thanks!! I too wish she could've won one more slam (perhaps Roland Garros? or is that just too much dreaming?) but as it is her career was pretty awesome. That she remained so down to earth through those 22million dollars in price money just makes her all the more amazing.

Yummy Prince Fed,
Indeed the WTA is getting well deserved attention lately on different subjects. This is a good article on Lindsay. Other than the Wumbledon final in 2005 against Venus, Lindsay was also close of winning the Australian Open singles 2005 but was exhausted in the 3rd set against Serena. Also, she made the finals in doubles with Corina Morariu.

Lindsay Davenport:
3 Slam titles : 1998 United States Open,1999 Wimbledon,2000 Australian Open
52 single titles(not counting Slams)
37 double titles
753 singles and 382 doubles wins
Also, she lost in 4 other Slam finals(l. Venus - 2000 and 2005 Wimbledon AND l. Serena - 2000 United States Open and 2005 Australian Open)

Pete,
I am not surprised that Lindsay said that the 2005 final at Wimbledon was a disappointing loss. After that match, Lindsay back was a problem as she could not team up with Venus to play Fed Cup at Russia then she lost the first 5 games of the match against Anna-Lena Groenefeld at Stanford.

Wumbledon = Wimbledon. Making typing errors due to no rest but about to go to bed now.

Pete, thank you for a wonderful article on Lindsay. Apart from being a great champion, she has great integrity, and is a truly genuine person. I can't think of another one like her any more. So many WTA players are given to self promotion, she is the only one who prefers to recede into the background, and yet her success speaks for itself.

Pete, hi! I really enjoyed this post. I always like Lindsay and I always like your writing about her. This is an interesting reflection on her personality and how it has shaped her interactions with the public -- something to think about if she's really going to pursue broadcasting. I haven't heard or seen her in action in the booth, but I look forward to it. At the same time, there seems to be an embarrassment of commentators out there unless one of the others is going to step aside.

Hey Pete and everyone,

I wasn't ever very inspired by Lindsay when she was playing - she seemed too uncomplicated, too golden, too simple (in the sense of having no problems) - didn't dislike her but there were always other players who appealed to me more.

But this bit - "If you grew up in southern California, a dark-haired girl well on your way to breaking 6-foot-2, you're probably familiar with some of the ploys Lindsay used in an attempt to keep from drawing attention to herself (always wear flats, learn how to make yourself "small" as you stand in the back row on class picture day)." - makes me look at her slightly differently.

I'm sure she did some commentary for the BBC at Wimbledon last year too - remember her as being lovely - warm and insightful and a bit hesitant, but that was kind of charming. Far better than Tim Henman, anyway.

"It's hard to elude the posse; in the end the posse always gets you, because you can only cheat mortality and time for so long." - that may be a truism but it still makes me shiver.

There isn't anything at all about this post not to like!! beautiful and,I would imagine,sincere. it shows.

I always loved that somewhat gawky tall girl thing Lindsay has, like my idol Julia Child, and her freckles. The last time I was in East Hampton in the month of August was in 2005, I had stopped in the village to buy saffron, and she had parked so close to me that she apologized, which a local would do, but a "city person" likely wouldn't. I asked her if she was out there for training (US Open was soon) or relaxation; she answered, "a little bit of both". I wished her good luck, and then I said something geeky like "looking good, girl!" which seemed to catch her off guard a little. Either she was uncomfortable with a complete stranger giving her a compliment, or simply the fact that all she'd done was park next to this particular complete stranger who felt the need to comment on what had been her remarkable physical transformation. Then I felt bad that I'd pierced her anonymity bubble - but after I drove off, I called all my tennis-nut friends.

Thank you Pete. I love reading about Lindsay- the ultimate anti-diva. clean ball striking, no drama, genuine - and yes, her negative body language when she played badly (that's the one thing I hated about watching her play)

I wish her all the best.

keep up the great writing

I agree with all the praise about this great player but I completely disagree about the subjet of Bodo article. At the time when an important tournament is taken place and we all follow it on tv we expected Bodo comments about the matches now not next month. He can write about Davenport any other time. For a while it looks that Bodo find excuses to avoid given his opinions about these tornaments. I would like to know what the reasons are.

Just curious, but has anyone else ever ended their career in a similar manner to Sampras--just walking away after a big win? I can't think of any, probably because it's hard to win a major late in your career and injuries almost always get the better of you at that age.

Genevieve, try this: I am not a machine, watching tennis matches day after day after day and then reciting what I saw for those who saw the same thing, day after day. Simple as that - no mysterious subplots or conspiracies at work here.

"At the time when an important tournament is taken place and we all follow it on tv we expected Bodo comments about the matches now not next month."

well, Rome might be a Masters Series event, but it's not as if Peter's going far Off Topic in the middle of a Grand Slam.

Great piece on Lindsay, Pete. She is a class act.

I would love to see her broadcasting career take off. Her insight and intelligence shine through everything she says and does.

I'll never forget Venus jumping up and down like a jack-in-the-box after that heartbreaking loss that Lindsay suffered at her hands at Wimbledon. Lindsay was on cruise control, but her back gave out, and Venus took the opportunity to pounce. I'm not faulting her for this--I know that's what the pros do. But every time she lept up in the air, screeching her delight in her victory over Lindsay, was like a knife blade in my heart. I was both astonished and embarrassed at her behavior. Kudos for Lindsay who took that in stride. If the roles were reversed, you can bet that Lindsay would have been decidedly more gracious.

Pete,

Hmmmm, nice article. But is Lindsay really being true to herself? Unless I missed something, she is not officially retired. I am happy for her and her family, and I like her and feel her style of play was so clean, powerful, and most of the time, error free. Her serve is one of the best. But with all that said, I don't see Linsay really accepting the fact that she can't compete anymore whether it is due to age or injury.

Personally, I don't think she will accept the fact and I look for her to be back after the second child.

Nice post Pete. I've always liked Davenport and I think she might be as good a commentator as she was a player.