Lindsay Davenport was back on court at the US Open after missing last year’s tournament following the birth of son Jagger - with a 6-4, 6-2 first-round victory over Aleksandra Wozniak. But as she is now 32, can we expect much from the 1998 champion during this fortnight?

Davenport’s fitness level is a real issue as she doesn’t seem to be moving well on the court. This can be blamed on an injury to her right knee, which she suffered in a first-round victory in June at Wimbledon. But keep in mind that the problem forced the southern California native to pull out of the tournament, and limited her at the recently completed Olympics, where she competed with Liezel Huber in the doubles.

The American pair lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in a difficult quarter-final match that lasted three hours.

In Beijing, Davenport remarked that her knee felt good, and that the decision to participate only in doubles allowed her to regain some confidence on the court. Due to her commitment to the Olympics, she did not have much time to prepare for her opening-round match. And it showed.

She converted just five of a possible 14 break points against Wozniak, whom Davenport trounced in Quebec City last season. What’s more, the tall veteran converted just 47 percent of her first serves, and made 26 unforced errors — three more than Wozniak.

Wozniak deserves credit for playing hard against the former world No.1, and for her upset victory against a hobbling Serena Williams in her surprising title run as a qualifier (ranked No.85) at Stanford earlier this summer.

What is next for Davenport?

In Wednesday’s second round, she will play Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova, a 6-2, 7-5 winner on Monday against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro. Kleybanova, while talented, is ranked No.67 on the WTA Tour at age 19. Clearly, it is a match Davenport can win.

But Kleybanova has proven she can play well at major tournaments. At Wimbledon in July, she toppled 10th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova before losing in straight sets to Venus Williams, the eventual champion.

The popular question at Flushing Meadows is: Which Davenport will show up in Round 2? Will it be the woman who played to a high level with tournament victories in Bali and Quebec City upon her return to tennis last fall, or will she crumble like she did in a humbling loss to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January?

If Davenport can shape up in time to win two more matches, she could face eighth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round. And Davenport has won all six of their previous meetings without dropping a set. Stay tuned.

How much longer will Davenport continue as a pro player? It is difficult to say. She has admitted more than once to wanting to play one match at a time without making a decision about whether to retire.

Regardless, give Davenport credit for returning to the Tour. She has had a great career, even if she loses her second-round match.