The battle for supremacy at the Sanex Championships

The debate will continue even if Davenport takes the #1 spot away from Capriati at the end of this week, and thus for the year. Taking the #1 ranking will mean Davenport would have won the most titles on tour this season with eight (counting Linz and Munich), and ending the season on a 16 match winning streak which would equal Venus’s current streak from San Diego up to the US Open. It seems like justification enough to take the #1 ranking, especially if the fifth major on tour, the Sanex Championships, were on her record. However, there will be even more question marks next to Davenport’s name considering she hadn’t even reached a Grand Slam final this year. There is no doubt that Davenport has the talent and the proven record to be a worthy #1, but without a Grand Slam, the claim doesn’t seem to hold up very well. Davenport has played consistently well throughout the season but had never looked to be the “best player on tour” at any stage prior to this indoor season. She was unable to hold up at the most important events – the Grand Slams – nor against the Williams sisters, going 0-3 against Venus and 0-2 against Serena this year. Thus she hadn’t been considered to be in “real” contention for the ranking, that is until her current indoor form put her back in the race. To take the #1 ranking for the year on the very last week of the season may seem like an anomaly or a slight against Capriati’s superb Grand Slam record, but it would mark Davenport’s consistency and superb performances on the tour outside of the majors.

Whoever finishes at #1 this year, we have to say that the rankings are unsubjective. They are based on careful and astute mathematical calculations and reward consistency over the entire season, not just a part of it. Thus, until Venus, or another player for that matter, is able to come up with the excellent results over the whole season, the #1 player on paper should be seen as the #1 player, question marks and asterisks aside.

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