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 The
Toshiba Tennis Classic had become an important tune-up for the US Open. The top players
play the tournament, which offers a similar hardcourt surface, to get ready for the year's
last Grand Slam at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York.
That fact was clearly evident in 1998 as second-seeded Lindsay Davenport of Newport Beach
won the $450,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic with a 6-3, 6-1 win over France's Mary Pierce before
a sellout crowd of 6,200 at the La Costa Resort & Spa.
One month later, the Southern California native would go on to win her first career grand
slam singles title at the U.S. Open.
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| Tournament promoters,
friends and players celebrate the tournament's 15th anniversary. |
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In the final at La Costa, she took advantage of an upper right thigh strain
Pierce suffered early that morning during practice. The injury clearly affected the Frenchwoman's
mobility during the match.
Davenport, ranked second in the world, dominated from start to finish as she slammed 28
winners and lost only six points on her serve.
Pierce, who could not break Davenport's serve, was treated twice for her injury by a tour
trainer during the final, including once during an 18-minute rain delay.
The semifinals provided some of the most exciting tennis during the tournament. Davenport
slipped past fourth-seeded Monica Seles, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Pierce ousted defending champion
and top seed, Martina Hingis, with an exciting 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 win.
Davenport earned a check for $79,000
and a 65-inch big-screen television for winning the tournament.
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| Lindsay
Davenport shows off her trophy. |
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Japan's Ai Sugiyama scored the big upset of the week as she eliminated four-time
tournament champion Steffi Graf 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in the second round. Graf, who was seeded
sixth, lost for the first time in five tournament appearances in San Diego County.
Four months earlier, Graf had beaten Sugiyama 6-0, 6-1 at Indian Wells.
Former two-time tournament champion Jennifer Capriati won three qualifying matches to gain
a spot in the main draw. She lost to Sugiyama in the first round, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Capriati
came into the tournament ranked 117 in the world.
Davenport took home a second title when she won the doubles championship with Natasha Zvereva.
They defeated the French team of Nathalie Tauziat and Alexandra Fusai, 6-2, 6-1. The winners
split $23,500.
The tournament set a new record for attendance as it drew 81,989 tennis fans,
a 16 percent increase from 1997.
FOX Sports Net and FOX Network televised the semifinals and finals.
Seventeen-year-old Anna Kournikova was scheduled to play in the tournament, but had to withdraw
as she was still recovering from a right-thumb injury she suffered at a tournament in Eastbourne,
England in mid-June.
Former Patrick Henry High School student, Allison Bradshaw, entered the tournament's qualifying
draw as a wildcard. She was defeated in the first round by Taiwan's Shi-Ting Wang, 6-3,
6-1. The tournament was Bradshaw's first pro event.
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