Capriati Overcomes Fellow Floridian, 7-5, 6-3

Jennifer Capriati, the 13-year-old who finished second in her first professional tournament last week, scored a straight-set victory Friday in the opening round of the International Players Championships.

But Capriati did not have it easy, defeating fellow Floridian Luanne Spadea, 7-5, 6-3.

Spadea, a 17-year-old ranked No. 202, had never played Capriati, although both players are from Ft. Lauderdale.

“She’s an extraordinary player,” Spadea said. “But there are a lot of other girls out there who have as much potential as she does . . .

“The media has been hyping her up like she’s a goddess. She’s a human being, just like we are.”

With most big-name players missing from this tournament’s schedule Friday, Capriati again drew a media blitz.

“It’s not easy, but sometimes I just have to, like, block it out and not think about it,” she said of all the attention. Friends and family “try to calm me down,” she added.

“I didn’t play as well as I’d like to,” said Capriati, who will next play sixth-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia. “I was making a lot of unforced errors.”

Capriati is expecting a tougher challenge from Sukova, who lost to Capriati, 6-1, 6-4, last week.

“I think she’ll play better,” Capriati said, “because she’ll know how I play and how to play me.”

Knowing how Capriati plays wasn’t enough help for Spadea.

Capriati’s forehand is her weaker groundstroke, but it finished off Spadea in several games.

Capriati hit a forehand winner to break serve for a 6-5 lead in the first set. After holding serve to close out the set, she broke again with a forehand winner to lead the second set 1-0. A running forehand cross-court for another winner put her up 2-0.

Spadea, trailing 4-3, had a chance to get back in the match when Capriati lost the first two points of the eighth game while serving. But she came through with the only ace of the match, pulled the game out and then broke Spadea at love to clinch the match.

“I had some chances and didn’t take advantage of them,” Spadea said. “She played the crucial points better than I did.”

Winners in men’s singles included Jakob Hlasek and Amos Mansdorf. Seeded players received first-round byes and begin competition today in the 10-day event, which has attracted 17 of the top 20 men and 11 of the top 20 women.