TENNIS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS : Sabatini and Seles Advance to the Semifinals

Gabriela Sabatini routed Jennifer Capriati on Friday night and joined top-seeded Monica Seles in the semifinals of the Virginia Slims Championships.

No. 3-seeded Sabatini beat Capriati, 6-1, 6-4, after Seles defeated Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 6-2. In today’s other semifinal, No. 4 Martina Navratilova will play No. 8 Jana Novotna.

Sabatini’s best showings have come in New York. Her first major tournament victory came in the 1988 Virginia Slims Championships, and she won the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow last year.

“Coming here is something special, even if I feel a little tired from the whole year,” Sabatini said.

Capriati, seeded sixth, broke Sabatini’s serve at the start of both sets but each time was unable to press the advantage because Sabatini was commanding from the baseline and dominant from the net.

In the second set, Sabatini trailed, 2-0, but won the next two games to pull even then broke Capriati from deuce in the seventh game.

Sabatini saved a break point in the 10th game and won the match when Capriati hit a forehand wide on the first match point.

“After today’s match, I feel like everything came together,” Sabatini said.

“I had a very good strategy. I tried to mix my game very much.”

Seles increased her career record against Fernandez to 10-1.

“She was running down a lot of balls,” Seles said of Fernandez. “I was winning my service games pretty easy, but I knew that Mary Joe is going to come out there and play the best she can.”

Fernandez said she injured her shoulder in the first set and had trouble serving after that. “I hit one serve in the beginning where I felt it go a little bit,” she said. “I thought it might get worse, that’s why I called the trainer out.”