Lindsay Davenport beat Venus Williams for the first time in three and a half years to win her third Bank of the West Classic title on Sunday.
Second seed Davenport beat top-seeded Williams, who had also previously won the title twice, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 in two hours and 53 minutes.
Davenport played an aggressive and gutsy match, going for big second serves, firing her returns and consistently pounding Williams's forehand.
"I've been on the flip side of losing a lot of those," Davenport said. "In the third set breaker, I hit some big shots.
"Mentally, I kept staying aggressive even though it brought out some errors. I still felt like I was still going for it. Having lost so many times to her and being able to beat her in a close match in a final feels really good."
It was the fifth-ranked Davenport's first victory over Williams since she beat her at Linz in 2000 and ended a run of six losses to her fellow American. Williams still maintains a 12-11 edge in their rivalry.
In a hard-fought contest played in searing heat, the two old rivals stood toe to toe in a first set slugfest that saw the 28-year-old Davenport fight off multiple break points.
Even though Davenport took a medical timeout after she broke Williams back to 3-4 to treat a sore left wrist, the three-times Grand Slam winner did not lose her stride.
She continued to blitz Williams's weaker forehand side and finally broke it down in the tiebreaker, when Williams committed six forehand unforced errors to lose it 7-4.
WILLIAMS FIGHT-BACK
But four-times Grand Slam champion Williams would not quit in the second set and came back from a 1-3 deficit to briefly seize control of the match.
She finally gained control of her forehand, served with a variety and authority and simply outran her foe. She broke Davenport back to 2-3 when her opponent missed an easy volley and then broke her to 6-5 when Davenport committed only her second double fault. Williams held at love to win the set.
After playing nearly two hours in the heat, it appeared that Davenport might wilt in the third set, but she continued to fight for every point.
The two players traded breaks early in the set but then upped the level of their service games. Williams held a break point at 5-5, but Davenport responded by lacing a forehand crosscourt winner and eventually held to 6-5.
In the tiebreaker, Williams's forehand failed her once again. At 3-3, Davenport cracked a forehand down the line passing shot and never looked back, winning the match when Williams pulled a backhand wide.
"I just wanted to keep giving myself opportunities because she came up with big shots on a lot of important points," said Davenport, who won her third title of the year. "I worked so hard and totally earned the victory."
Williams, who committed 73 unforced errors, was disappointed with the loss.
"I know today wasn't my best day and I lost 7-6 in the third," Williams said. "If I would have played decent, I would have won."
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