Pierce beats Coetzer

Davenport poised to claim world No. 1

Web posted October 6, 1998

Associated Press

FILDERSTADT, Germany -- France's Mary Pierce routed Amanda Coetzer 6-2, 6-2 Monday in the opening match of the Porsche Grand Prix.

But the match merely set the stage for the real battle at the $450,000 event -- who will be the world's No. 1 player when the new rankings come out next week.

Pierce next faces Lindsay Davenport, the second-ranked American who could lose that second-round match and still end Martina Hingis' long reign as the world's top-ranked player.

In fact, Davenport seems more likely to finish the event at No. 1 than Hingis in a field that has 18 of the world's top 20 players.

Hingis, the defending champion, must reach the final or she will be automatically bumped from the top spot by Davenport.

And the Swiss teenager has a tough draw with matches against Russia's Anna Kournikova, Venus Williams and world No. 3 Jana Novotna.

Davenport would also advance to No. 1 if she wins two matches and Hingis loses in the final, or if she reaches the final.

Pierce, ranked 11th in the world, needed just 65 minutes to oust the 10th-ranked Coetzer. Lisa Raymond of the United States outlasted Romania's Ruxandra Dragomir 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in Monday's only other match.

Neither Coetzer nor Pierce, despite their high rankings, were among the eight seeds since the only top 10 player missing is Monica Seles.

Seles refuses to play in Germany since she was stabbed in Hamburg in 1993.