Davenport dropped early

PARIS - In the space of two months Dominique Van Roost lost her

mother and almost quit tennis, but she came back to upset French Open

second seed Lindsay Davenport on an emotionally charged birthday

Wednesday.

On her 27th birthday, Van Roost beat Davenport 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. The

Palisades Tennis Club member was looking to win the only Grand Slam title

still to elude her.

Van Roost’s mother, Louise Anne, died from cancer in April, and the

Belgian star was playing in only her fourth match after a comeback at the

Italian Open in Rome two weeks ago.

Davenport has been struggling with a back injury that forced her to pull

out of the Italian Open before a match almost two weeks ago and to

withdraw from the Madrid Open the following week. She needed treatment

during the long, first-round match against Van Roost, which lasted two

hours 18 minutes.