TENNIS WOMEN AT LA COSTA : Capriati’s Weight Loss Results in Net Gain

Last spring, Jennifer Capriati knew her diet had to change.

“I like ice cream and a lot of sweets,” she said Friday after defeating Zina Garrison, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Mazda Tennis Classic at the La Jolla Resort and Spa.

She said she also likes pizza--a lot of pizza.

“I was eating it every day, like 12 pieces,” she said.

Capriati said that after the Italian Open in May, a reporter asked if her weight was a factor in her three-set loss to South Africa’s Amanda Coetzer.

“It’s too bad that that’s what motivated me,” she said. “Unfortunately, he was right.”

Over the next 3 1/2 months, Capriati said she shed 30 pounds from her 5-foot-8 frame by “no longer pigging out. I started trying to eat the healthy stuff.”

Capriati’s trainer gave her diet tips, and she did her own research on the importance of nutrition and exercise to her health and tennis.

“I really didn’t think it was important,” she said. “I thought just playing tennis was OK.”

Capriati started an aerobics program and began eating half portions, “which were more like normal anyway. It just started coming off,” she said.

There were times during the weight loss that Capriati felt a lack of energy, but never during a tournament.

Now, she is feeling better.

“It helps me feel lighter out there,” she said. “I wanted to look better.”

A lighter Capriati, seeded second in Carlsbad, overcame a 4-0 deficit in the first set to eliminate the seventh-seeded Garrison.

Capriati will play Anke Huber of Germany in today’s semifinals at noon. Huber defeated Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-1, 6-1, to advance. Capriati defeated Huber in the Olympic quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-6, on the red clay in Barcelona.

Leila Meskhi of the Commonwealth of Independent States will play Conchita Martinez of Spain in the other semifinal.

Against Garrison, Capriati started sluggishly before something inside her clicked.

“Like, OK, you’re in trouble so you’d better get yourself out of it,” she said.

Garrison stuck to her net game despite losing the next six games. She blamed her troubles on poor shot selection and performance.

“It was working,” Garrison said. “I missed a couple balls. Naturally I took some pressure off of her. I think I played well, but when I needed to close it out, I used the wrong shots at the wrong time.”

In the second set, Capriati broke Garrison to go up, 5-3, but Garrison held off triple match point to break back before finally losing.