NEW YORK -- It's rare that Lindsay Davenport loses her cool, but Nadia Petrova was really getting to her. Davenport bounced her racket to the ground, then caught it on the ricochet.
It was a very minor display of frustration.
On Sunday at the U.S. Open, America's down-to-earth star received her toughest test of the tournament yet.
Davenport, extended to three sets for the first time at Flushing Meadows this year, defeated hard-serving Russian Nadia Petrova 6-0, 6-7 (6), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
The third-seeded Davenport, the only former Open champion in the field, spent 1 hour, 52 minutes on the court in the fourth-round match. She had won her first three matches in less than three hours.
Still, in typical Davenport fashion, she smiled and gave a friendly wave to the energetic crowd when she was done.
It was a thoughtful show of appreciation for a crowd that stuck by her through the struggles. A tiny group of fans in the upper deck hollered "Let's go Lindsay," and nearly everyone in Arthur Ashe Stadium participated in the ensuing clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.
"The first set is how I wanted to play," she said. "I played real aggressive, was in control of the points, then slowly through the middle of the second set until the end I stopped being in control of points. I was making a lot of careless errors. Then she started serving a lot better.
"But, you know, the first set gives me a lot of encouragement."
Davenport will now play No. 24 Paola Suarez, who also had to go the distance to win her fourth-round match, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 against Elena Likhovtseva. Suarez had beaten the Russian only once in five previous meetings.
World No. 1 Kim Clijsters lost just five points on her serve in the second set and 13 total while serving on the way to a 6-2, 6-4 win against 17th-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy. The four games Clijsters allowed in the second set were the most any opponent has taken from her.
She's lost just 18 games in all.
"I'm feeling good," Clijsters said. "It's always a little bit different because the stadium's so big here. When I first played here, it was a little overwhelming."
Up next for Clijsters is No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn. Clijsters is 3-2 against Mauresmo and both women are looking for their first Grand Slam titles.
When asked the key to beating Clijsters, Mauresmo said, "Well, I'm not going to tell you that," and then she laughed.
Davenport has never lost to Suarez in five meetings dating to 1996, though the 27-year-old Argentine stole her first set from Davenport this year in Los Angeles.
Suarez, in her 10th straight Open appearance, has advanced her furthest in the draw. She reached the third round in 1997, losing to Mary Joe Fernandez.
This has been a successful year for her. Suarez won on the red clay in Vienna in June, was a semifinalist in Bogota and Toronto, and reached the quarterfinals in three other events.
"I think it's the best year for me," she said. "Because I can play. I play all the tournaments at a good level. I feel my confidence (go up) every tournament. I think I have a lot of experience now. Mentally, I'm more strong."
Davenport didn't look so mentally strong at times during her match.
Her body language gave it all away: The woman with the most hard court wins of all time was uncomfortable with her game.
After breezing through the opening set in 22 minutes, Davenport began having trouble with the No. 19 Petrova's serve, which consistently came in at 106 mph or faster. Her own serve failed her for a bit, too.
There were four straight games in the second set when neither player held serve. After breaking back to close within 5-4, Davenport held for 5-5. In the tiebreaker, she led 5-2 before Petrova tied it at 5. Petrova made it 6-5 when Davenport's second serve clipped the net and sailed long.
Davenport saved two set points before Petrova finished it. Davenport, who admitted she began to tire, had more unforced errors than winners, 33-22. This kind of test is exactly what Davenport hoped to avoid during the first week. It will be interesting to see how she holds up from here. The foot will require surgery after the Open.
"It is what it is," she said. "It would have been nice to have finished it in two sets, but it didn't happen. But I still got through a pretty long match."
Late in the third set, Davenport limped to the sideline for the final changeover, clearly bothered by the lingering nerve problem in the toes of her left foot.
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