Davenport helps out

NEWPORT BEACH — Natalie Small kept hitting Lindsay Davenport’s serve just long. Three times in a row, Davenport served, and the returns of the Newport Harbor High senior-to-be sailed a bit.

The fourth time, Small got one in, finally victorious in the between-set entertainment early in Thursday night’s Newport Beach Breakers match.

Small was all smiles. She could also take solace in the fact that Springfield Lasers players didn’t fare much better against the former world No. 1.

Davenport, a Laguna Beach resident, won a crucial women’s doubles set with Michaela Pastikova in the Breakers’ 19-15 overtime win at Newport Beach Country Club.

Davenport and Pastikova defeated Springfield’s Shenay Perry and Chanelle Scheepers, 5-0, turning a 12-10 Breakers advantage into a huge 17-10 lead headed into the final set. The duo won 20 points for the Breakers (2-3), while Springfield (4-2) managed just five in a marquee performance by the Breakers’ marquee player.

“That was a very clean set of tennis,” Breakers Coach Trevor Kronemann said. “They just played very solid and didn’t make a lot of mistakes. That’s what champions do, they hit a ton of balls and make you play.”

Davenport didn’t play singles in the match, a result of a lingering right knee injury that caused her to withdraw in the second round of Wimbledon. She wore a knee brace Thursday, but her game didn’t appear slowed at all.

She also came at a good time for the Breakers. Newport Beach’s Angelika Bachmann tore her right ACL Monday and will be out for the season.

“She went after a ball and her knee just crumpled,” Kronemann said.

Kronemann said the team will look for a season-long replacement, although the Breakers will also have Davenport in Saturday’s match at Sacramento. It should be a big benefit again, the way she pounded groundstroke winners against Springfield.

“[Davenport] is like [Jimmy] Connors on the men’s side,” Kronemann said. “She hits the ball so clean. The knee has been an issue, but she seemed to rise to the occasion tonight and get it done.”

Pastikova, who lost 5-4 to Scheepers in women’s singles, also enjoyed the opportunity to play with Davenport.

“I played against her last year in World Team Tennis, when she was playing for Sacramento,” Pastikova said. “… It’s just amazing how she hits the ball, and how nice she was … We played good doubles. I know it’s just five games, but we played good doubles.”

The Breakers also benefited from a 5-0 men’s singles victory from Ramon Delgado, over the Lasers’ Izak Van der Merwe, to open the match.

“We put Ramon first, and Ramon said, ‘I’m going to give us the lead.’ ” Kronemann said. “He did exactly what he needed to do and got us rolling.”

In other sets, Delgado and Kaes Van’t Hof lost in men’s doubles, 5-3, to Van der Merwe and Glenn Weiner. They’re still looking for their first men’s doubles win of the season.

Davenport played mixed doubles with Van’t Hof, the son of her former coach, Robert, to close the match. They lost the set to Perry and Weiner, 5-1, but Davenport held serve on the first game of overtime to end the match.

She said in a pre-match press conference that she relished the chance to play in Orange County again. Davenport hadn’t played for the Breakers since 2003.

“Obviously, Orange County has a huge tennis following and a lot of players in the area, so to have professional tennis in my home city is a great thing,” she said. “It’s ridiculously easy when I’m used to traveling from Asia to Europe to Australia to just come 10 minutes up the road.”

Springfield, which had beaten Newport Beach just three days earlier, probably wished the drive would’ve been a bit more difficult.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].