Harkleroad triumphs after Davenport falters

Fed Cup Tennis

SAN DIEGO — The Fed Cup was supposed to be Lindsay Davenport's baby.

It sure wasn't Saturday, when the veteran faltered badly in a stunning loss on the opening day of a quarterfinal against Germany.

Playing in her native Southern California, Davenport didn't have much go her way in losing 6-1, 7-5 to 18-year-old Sabine Lisicki, who was coming off an impressive performance at the Australian Open.

Ashley Harkleroad shook off her nerves and evened the best-of-5 series at 1-1 with a brilliant Fed Cup debut, a 6-1, 6-3 win over Tatjana Malek.

The final three matches are scheduled for today, when rain is forecast. Weather-permitting, Davenport will get an immediate chance to rebound when she plays Malek in the first match. Harkleroad will play Lisicki, followed by the doubles match, in which Davenport is scheduled to play.

It was a shocking performance for Davenport, who was playing in the United States for the first time in her comeback following the birth of her first child — a son named Jagger — in June.

"I'm having a hard time remembering the last time a match went so one-sided against me, a match that, you know, that's been my strength, is to take control of," Davenport said. "But hopefully that will change."

The 31-year-old Davenport came in with a 31-2 overall Fed Cup record. She had won 19 straight singles matches and 24 straight matches overall. Her last Fed Cup loss came in the finals in 1994.

Davenport said she never felt great all day, which her body language confirmed throughout the match. She didn't have an explanation for her poor play, which resulted in her first hard-court Fed Cup loss.

"I wish I did," she said. "I'll have to figure out a reason tonight so it doesn't happen again tomorrow."

Lisicki broke Davenport's serve twice in the first set before a stunned crowd. Lisicki made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open last month, reaching the third round as a qualifier and beating No. 16 seed Dinara Safina.

The 22-year-old Harkleroad took a 5-0 lead in the first set.

"After she lost, I really just tried to focus on my game, just going out and enjoying the opportunity to be out there in my first Fed Cup and try and enjoy the moment," Harkleroad said. "That's what I did. I executed and dealt with my nerves well."

The winner of this quarterfinal moves on to face either Israel or defending Fed Cup champion Russia. Maria Sharapova won her Fed Cup debut match and Russia split with host Israel in their opening singles, while Spain and China took 2-0 leads in the first round.

Sharapova beat Tzipi Obziler 6-0, 6-4, and Israel's Shahar Peer beat Dinara Safina 0-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain upset Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2, and Anabel Medina Garrigues followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Flavia Pennetta in Naples, Italy. That puts the 2006 champion and last year's runner-up on the verge of elimination heading into Sunday's competition.

In Beijing, Li Na defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-3, 6-1 and Peng Shuai outlasted Virginie Razzano 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to put China within one victory of its first appearance in the Fed Cup semifinals.