Davenport speaks about influence of Billie Jean King on her career

In the late 60s and early 70s, Billie Jean King experienced the best years of her career. She climbed the first place of the WTA Ranking in 1966 and managed to win 12 Grand Slam titles in singles.

King climbed the world no. 1 position in doubles a year later and added another 16 Grand Slam titles in doubles. More success arrived with mixed doubles for Billie Jean as she added another 11 Grand Slam titles there.

King also managed to win the Fed Cup 8 times. The first 7 victories came before 1980. The last one was in 1996 when she was the captain. Back then, another singles and doubles world number 1, Lindsay Davenport was part of the team. The US team won the Fed Cup in that year by defeating Spain 5-0 in the final.

But the more important moment for King and Davenport came earlier that year. After Monica Seles lost in quarterfinals and Mary Joe Fernandez in the semifinals, Lindsay Davenport was the last hope for the US to capture the gold medal in women's singles at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. And that was the moment when Billie Jean King influenced Lindsay Davenport.

"More than anybody else she has an ability to get through to people and it is hard not to listen to her. Billie took me aside and said, 'You know this is a big deal tomorrow, don't you?'" recalls Davenport. "I had just turned 20 and I was saying things like, 'Yeah, it is so fun here and it's been so great.' She said, 'Yes, that's true, but this is a really big deal in your life. This is life-changing and you’re going to have to learn how to embrace these kinds of moments and not blow them off and be fine with the silver medal.'"

The next day, Davenport defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 7-6(8), 6-2 to win the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

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