Tennis: Dynamic Davenport

THE WORLD No 1 Lindsay Davenport overwhelmed Irina Spirlea 6-0, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the TIG Classic in Carlsbad, California, on Wednesday night.

The US Open and Wimbledon champion is trying to retain the three 1998 hard-court titles, contested in her home state, which she captured before the year's final Grand Slam tournament. She defended the first of them last week. "It was in my mind that it was this time of year when I went from being a good player to a great player, and this time, coming in to these tournaments, it's a different feeling," Davenport said.

The fourth seed Venus Williams advanced after beating Natasha Zvereva 7-5, 6-1.