Schnyder topples Davenport in Swisscom Challenge final

Local favourite Patty Schnyder toppled defending champion and second–seeded Lindsay Davenport 6–7(5), 7–6(8), 6–3 in the final of the Swisscom Challenge yesterday to win her first career Tier 1 title.

The Swiss player kept her nerve throughout the 2 hour, 15 minute contest to win her first title of the season, the eighth of her career. It marked her first on home soil.

"It's my biggest title ever," said the 19th–ranked Schnyder, after recording her first victory against Davenport in six meetings. "I played a great tournament. There was so much emotion playing in Switzerland in front of my home crowd. "It's given me so much confidence. It's a great victory." Schnyder's journey to the final was a combination of luck and impressive skill.

The Swiss drew Czech qualifier Denisa Chladkova in the first round, then walked through the second when third–seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France withdrew with a knee injury.

But that's when Schnyder began earning her way through, upsetting seventh–seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in a marathon three–setter, then defeating Spanish veteran Conchita Martinez less than 12 hours later in the semi-finals.

Schnyder and Davenport stayed neck–and–neck throughout the opening set, with both players missing a number of chances, the American squandering two break points at 2–2 and her opponent wasting three at 5–4.

They continued to remain close in the tiebreak, with Davenport only eking the win when Schnyder sent a giant lob out down 6–5.

The second set was just as tight, but saw the first break at 1–1 when Davenport double–faulted to give Schnyder the advantage, then sent the ball long on the next point. But the American immediately recovered her serve, going ahead 40–15 before wrong–footing her Swiss opponent.

Davenport appeared poised for victory, taking a 7–6 lead in the second tiebreak, but Schnyder suddenly ambushed her, taking four of the next five points, evening the sets when the American sent a forceful backhand hurtling out.

Schnyder broke to go 3–1 in the third, marking the first two–game gap of the match. Again Davenport immediately recovered her serve, but this time with more difficulty, needing five break points.

The American was unable to repeat the feat when she was broken 5–3, with Schnyder sealing the title on her own serve, when Davenport lunged in vain to save a crosscourt forehand shot.

"It was a close match right from the beginning," Schnyder said. "I saved a set point before losing it. I saved a match point in the second.

"I was a bit nervous in the first set. I played the tiebreak badly but I kept on fighting. And my game got better and better. After that, she was doing everything she could to beat me."

Schnyder's only other final this year was in Charleston in April when she lost to Iva Majoli.

The victory keeps alive Schnyder's chances of qualifying for the season–ending Championships.

The Swiss player, who has long lived in the shadow of her illustrious compatriot Martina Hingis, had never reached further than the round of 16 in her eight previous appearances in Zurich.

Davenport had hurt her shin during training the previous day and then jammed it again during her semi-final against fourth–seeded Justine Henin. Though it was treated ahead of the final, Davenport acknowledged she was not 100 percent for the match.

"It (my shin) loosened up as the game went on but then the longer it went the more it got sore. I took a one–hour pain pill before the match but I thought 'Oh, God,' that's only the first set. But once the adrenaline gets going, it's good."

"I was given all the chances but I just didn't take them," she added. "Some losses are a bigger disappointments than others. I have to be happy I was able to play as I did."

The American planned to skip the tournament in Linz next week in favour of nursing her shin ahead of the Championships, held in her home town, Los Angeles.

Schnyder's win is one of the few blemishes on Davenport's remarkable record in Zurich. The player is 18–2 at the event, with her only other loss coming against Martina Hingis in the final in 2000. The American won back–to–back titles in 1997 and 1998 and tournaments in nearby Lucerne in 1993 and 1994.

Davenport retains her ranking of world No 10, while Schnyder could climb to No 13.