TENNIS JUNIOR GIRLS TOURNAMENT : 6-Foot-2 Davenport (14) Overpowers Edwards

Lindsay Davenport was holding a bag of ice against her lower back to ease growing pains Thursday, but it was opponent Kati Edwards who had suffered the most.

A 14-year-old from Palos Verdes, Davenport is 6 feet 2, three inches taller than she was last spring. And she is on the rise in the world of junior tennis.

Davenport, the No. 1-ranked 16-and-under player in the country, showed why by beating Edwards, 6-3, 6-0, in second-round play at the Seventeen Magazine Tournament of Champions at the Mission Viejo International Sports Complex.

Davenport’s hard-hitting baseline game put her head and shoulders above Edwards, of Tucson, who was ranked No. 56 by the USTA last year. Both players received first-round byes and then Davenport bid goodby to Edwards in less than an hour.

Davenport said her sore back, which first flared up during a practice session at the Easter Bowl tournament in Miami this year, should not be a problem today when she meets Julie Steven of Wichita, Kan., in the quarterfinals. Steven was a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Puerto Rico’s Joanna Bauza Thursday.

“I guess I’m growing a little too fast,� Davenport said, smiling. “My back hurts, my legs hurt and I keep pulling my (quadriceps). I guess I just have to do a lot of stretching.�

Anne Mall of Laguna Niguel was stretched a bit more than she would have liked in her opening-round match in the 18s division, but she eventually prevailed over Terry Ann Zawacki of Union, N.J., 6-4, 6-3.

Mall meets Keirsten Alley of Melrose, Mass., today in the quarterfinals. Alley defeated Jennifer Fiers of Sarasota, Fla., 6-3, 6-1.