Davenport gets the call

Palisades Tennis Club’s Lindsay Davenport, the 1996 Olympic Games

gold medalist in women’s singles, has been chosen to represent the United

States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney a member of a four-women team.

The United States Tennis Association announced on Monday that

Davenport, Monica Seles and sisters Venus and Serena Williams, have been

named.

Davenport, Seles and Venus Williams will represent the U.S. in

singles, while Venus and Serena will compete in the doubles competition.

Billie Jean King, who led the U.S. to a gold medal sweep in women’s

singles and doubles in 1996, will coach the U.S. women’s Olympic team.

“I have always said since 1996, that I can’t wait to go back to the

Olympics,” said Davenport in a statement released by the USTA. “I am

looking forward to going back to Sydney and being part of the whole

experience again. I think we are sending an unbelievably strong team and

should probably win a lot of medals in Sydney.”

The 24-year-old Davenport, runner-up to Venus Williams on Sunday on

the Palo Alto stop of the women’s tour, defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

for the gold in Atlanta.

She will be attempting to become the first woman to repeat as gold

medalist in women’s singles in Olympic tennis history.

She won the U.S. Open singles title in 1998, Wimbledon in 1999 and the

Australian Open in 2000. Her father, Wink Davenport, was a member of the

1968 U.S. Olympic volleyball team that competed in Mexico City.

“This is a terrific moment in American tennis to have these four great

champions to comprise the strongest women’s tennis team in the history of

the Olympics,” said Arlen Kantarian, the USTA’s Chief Executive,

Professional Tennis.

“These four women are tremendous athletes and strong personalities

who, combined with a tennis legend in Billie Jean King, will be the talk

of Sydney both on and off the court.”