Capriati Stays on Diet of Victories

Jennifer Capriati never met a carbohydrate she didn’t like.

In an session that sounded more like a review of a restaurant than a tennis match, Capriati came clean with her unhealthy but typical teen-age eating habits.

“I like ice cream and a lot of sweets,” she said.

Another favorite was pizza, and not just one or two slices once or twice a week.

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

In a quarterfinal match of the Mazda Tennis Classic on Friday afternoon, second-seeded Capriati fought back from a 4-0 deficit in the first set to oust seventh-seeded Zina Garrison, 6-4, 6-4. Conchita Martinez and Anke Huber also won to advance to the semifinals.

For Capriati, tennis talk turned to weightier issues in the press briefing.

She 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, like carbohydrates, stuff like that.”

Capriati’s trainer gave her diet tips, and she did her own research on how important nutrition and exercise were to her overall health . . . and her 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 feels better and moves better.

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

Capriati’s game is getting as toned as she, but could improve as the dawn of the U.S. Open approaches.

Against Garrison, Capriati started sluggish and fell behind 4-0 before something inside her clicked.

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

Houston’s Garrison stuck stubbornly to her net game despite losing the next six games. She blamed her troubles instead 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.

Garrison fell behind 15-40 on serve, but dropped a slice backhand to hold off another match point. Capriati secured the victory when Garrison sent an easy overhead into the net.

Both agreed that Capriati didn’t earn this victory.

“Mostly, she gave it to me more than I totally won it and played unbelievable,” Capriati said.

Said Garrison: “That’s hard for me to say, but I think it was there (for me) to win.”

Earlier in the day, third-seeded Martinez of Spain stopped Ann Grossman of Grove City, Ohio, 6-1, 6-3, then jumped on a motorcycle to cruise around the resort.

Martinez, ranked eighth, has advanced quietly through the draw, and is equally subdued when she evaluates her performances.

“I played good, much better than the other day,” she said. “I was hitting the ball hard.”

In today’s second semifinal, she will play Leila Meskhi of the Republic of Georgia, an upset winner over Gabriela Sabatini on Thursday.

How does she assess her chances against the world’s 23rd ranked player?

“You always have to play the matches,” she said. “If she beats Gabby, Meskhi must be playing well. If I win, fine, if not, there are more chances.”

In Friday’s night match, Anke Huber of Germany turned back Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour 2 minutes.

Huber, 17, another player of few words, has lost the fewest games (four) of any other semifinalist.

“I think it was a good match for me,” she said. “I’m happy with it.”

Huber and Capriati meet noon in the first of today’s semifinals. She demurs on her chances against Capriati, which is a rematch of their Olympic quarterfinal, which Capriati won, 6-3, 7-6.

Capriati holds a 2-0 advantage against the German, but 11th-ranked Huber said the American was mentally tougher than she was in Barcelona.

“I have a lot of confidence,” Huber said. “I’ve played two very good matches. We shall see.”

Mazda Highlights

Center court, noon: No. 2 Jennifer Capriati vs. No. 4 Anke Huber; followed by No. 3 Conchita Martinez vs. Leila Meshki; followed by the doubles final, No. 1 Jana Novotna/Larisa Savchenko-Neiland vs. No. 2 Conchita Martinez/Mercedes Pal, or No. 4 Zina Garrison/Robin White.

Site: La Costa Resort & Spa.

Tickets: Sessions today and Sunday are sold out.