INQUIRER Sports

INDIAN WELLS, California -- Tennis mom Lindsay Davenport faces the same juggling act as most working mothers, but sometimes the WTA Tour amenities come in handy.

When her nine-month-old son, Jagger, developed a fever and a rash Sunday during the Pacific Life Open, Davenport took him straight to the tournament doctor.

Davenport, 31, said she felt apologetic at the possibility she might be keeping an ailing player waiting, but it didn't stop her.

"When I went, there was no player in there, luckily," she said.

Reassured that Jagger was probably feeling the effects of teething, Davenport admitted that this first brush with infant illness had been more stressful than the everyday schedule conflicts that come with combining a career with motherhood.

"I was stressed out of my mind, yelling at my husband, all because my son has a fever and he's not sleeping," she said.

The former world number one, a three-time Grand Slam champion, was expected to retire after 11 months off to have Jagger, but she returned in September.

Since then she has won four titles, at Bali and Quebec City in 2007 and at Auckland and Memphis this year, extending her career total to 55 WTA titles.

On Monday, she defeated Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan to set up a fourth-round clash with sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli as she continues her bid to add another Indian Wells title to those she won in 1997 and 2000.

Davenport said balancing work and family was challenging, but rewarding.

"Everything takes a little bit of a sacrifice, and I still dedicate as much time as I can to my career," she said. “It's certainly not as much as I did for about an eight-year stretch between '98 and 2006 or something.”

“On a day like today, it's really frustrating. I won't see my son from 3:00 p.m. today until tomorrow morning, because by the time I get back he'll be in bed,” she said.

"Those kinds of days kind of bum me out, but for the most part I'm really lucky," Davenport added. "I feel like I get a chance to do it all."