NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport needed just 40 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen, beating Jelena Dokic 6-2, 6-1 Tuesday night.
"It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be," Davenport said. "I was expecting to play a long time out there because I know how tough an opponent she can be. I was expecting to be pushed a little more."
Davenport, ranked No. 4 in the world, had nine aces, including three in the final game of the first set. The unseeded Dokic committed several unforced errors and won just three points over the final three games.
Dokic, who has fallen from No. 4 in the world to 23rd in the past year, has lost all eight meetings with Davenport.
"It seemed like tonight she was missing a lot of balls and going for shots too early in the rally," Davenport said. "There's no question she's got a a very good, solid game."
Davenport has made it to the finals of the Pilot Pen three of the last four years, losing each time to Venus Williams. Williams, the four-time champion at New Haven, skipped the tournament this week because of an abdominal strain.
Davenport, whose only win this year was at Tokyo early in the season, has struggled with a nerve disorder in her left foot that she said eventually will need surgery.
"Some days it flares up and other days it doesn't," Davenport said. "For the most part I can keep it under control for a few hours."
There was little that seemed to bother her Tuesday as she pounded Dokic with pinpoint passing shots and winners.
Others advancing to the second round on Tuesday were Magdalena Maleeva and Elena Dementieva.
Maleeva needed three sets and a 10-minute cool-down to hold off Tamarine Tanasugarn, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
The sixth-seeded Maleeva is looking for her second win this year. She won the Wimbledon tuneup in June on grass at Birmingham, England, and is using New Haven as the final hardcourt tuneup before the U.S. Open, where she will be seeded No. 10 next week.
"I have no preference," Maleeva said of court surfaces. "I've played well everywhere, I've played bad everywhere."
The match, nearly 2 1/2 hours long, was played in the afternoon heat. Play was stopped after the second set for 10 minutes when the heat and humidity exceeded acceptable conditions monitored courtside by a heat stress monitor and Tanasugarn asked for a break. Both players were allowed to return to the locker room and cool down, but Maleeva acknowledged she wasn't crazy about the idea.
"Sometimes when you take this break it's hard to start from the beginning. I'm not sure I like it," she said. "The first game was hard to play."
Dementieva beat Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 6-4. Dementieva dominated the first set, then traded breaks in the second set.
With the score tied 4-4, a long rally led to a wide shot by Farina Elia and a break for Dementieva. She pumped her fists in excitement, and held off a break at 5-4 with a cross-court volley at the net.
Temperatures were in the low 80s, but the sun was beating directly down on the hard court and the humidity was on the rise.
Dementieva took a few seconds between points to stand in the shade and took deep breaths to keep her energy up.
"It's really hard for me to play in this condition," Farina Elia said.
Dementieva had expected to play a first-round match against a qualifier, but Farina Elia entered the competition as a "lucky loser," when Nathalie Dechy withdrew Saturday with a left wrist sprain.
"She's a top 20 player, and it's so unlucky for me to play her in the first round. It was a very tough match," Dementieva said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
= Sporting News Radio Pass