TENNIS : Graf Nearly Loses a Set Before Beating Davenport

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Steffi Graf nearly lost a set Thursday.

Lindsay Davenport briefly challenged Graf’s dominance of the women’s tour, but the top-ranked German fought off two set points and won, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3), in the semifinals at the Lipton Championships.

These days Graf rarely loses a game, much less a set. She has won every set in her 27 matches this year, the longest such streak in at least a decade.

“I’m not worried about losing a set,” she said. “It was good to be pushed and to know that I played well when it counted.”

Davenport, a senior at Murrieta Valley High, had to settle for giving Graf a brief scare. Graf had lost only nine games in four previous matches at Lipton, and the tiebreaker was her first this year.

“It’s not a very big consolation,” Davenport said. “I’m pretty disappointed I had that second set and let it slip away.”

In the men’s quarterfinals, Andre Agassi overcome four consecutive set points to defeat Stefan Edberg, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2. Edberg squandered a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker, double-faulting at 6-5.

Today, Agassi will play Australia’s Patrick Rafter, who advanced by defeating Jim Grabb, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. The match turned after Grabb sprained his right ankle in the second set. Top-ranked defending champion Pete Sampras will play Jim Courier in the other semifinal.

Graf’s opponent in the women’s final Saturday will be Natalia Zvereva, who advanced by ousting Brenda Schultz, 6-0, 6-4. Graf, seeking her fifth tournament title this year and her first Lipton championship since 1988, is 13-0 against Zvereva.