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Capriati Has Eye on Title After Paz

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

After beating Mercedes Paz Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of her first Grand Slam tournament, 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati thinks she has a chance to win the French Open.

Capriati earned a 6-0, 6-3 victory against Paz, the Argentine who upset defending champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the second round. Next, Capriati will play fellow Floridian Mary Joe Fernandez. Beyond that, who knows?

“Well, I came into the tournament thinking I could win it,” Capriati said. “I think I still could win. I’m very happy to reach this far, and I’m excited to be in the quarters of my first Grand Slam, but I won’t just stop because I got this far.”

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Fernandez, seeded seventh, defeated Ann Grossman, 6-3, 6-2, as four other seeded players reached the quarterfinals. Top-seeded Steffi Graf, who eliminated Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-1, 6-4, will play ninth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, who beat Wiltrud Probst of West Germany, 6-3, 6-3.

Sisters Manuela Maleeva and Katarina Maleeva of Bulgaria also won and will play in the quarterfinals against the winners of two matches rained out Sunday.

Sixth-seeded Manuela, who defeated 10th-seeded Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union, 6-4, 6-2, will play either second-seeded Monica Seles of Yugoslavia or 16th-seeded Laura Gildemeister of Peru. Katarina, seeded eighth, beat Nicole Provis of Australia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, and will play either fourth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina or 11th-seeded Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia.

Capriati’s victory made certain that she will be seeded at Wimbledon. Her computer ranking would be No. 15, based on reaching the French quarterfinals.

Fernandez, who reached the semifinals last year and lost to Sanchez Vicario, said she will not be distracted by Capriati’s youth.

“You don’t look at age any more,” she said. “It just doesn’t matter. I played a 15-year-old (Mary Pierce) the other day. You just play the ball. It isn’t old.”

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