TENNIS WOMEN AT LA COSTA : Capriati Recovers in a Hurry to Advance

Second-seeded Jennifer Capriati overcame early mistakes to beat No. 7 Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-4 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Mazda Classic.

Capriati, in her first tournament since winning an Olympic gold medal in Barcelona, settled down to attack Garrison after losing the first four games.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I’m in trouble here, so I better get out of it,”’ said Capriati, ranked sixth in the world. “I wasn’t thinking I was going to lose, and she would come out stronger in the second set. I just wanted to come back point by point.”

By the end of the fourth game, Capriati had made 13 unforced errors.

“I thought she was playing well, but I just felt flat,” Capriati said. “I wasn’t as sharp as I was for the first match.”

The 16-year-old Capriati, seeking her first tournament title since last year’s Mazda event, will play in the semifinals Saturday against the winner of Friday’s late match between fourth-seeded Anke Huber and sixth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat.

No. 3 Conchita Martinez also advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ann Grossman. Martinez will face Leila Meskhi, who ousted top-seeded Gabriela Sabatini on Thursday night.

Capriati, who improved to 5-0 lifetime against Garrison, utilized some sharp passing shots and benefited from misplays by her opponent in the frontcourt.

“It’s hard for me to say it, but I lost the match more than she won it,” said Garrison, ranked 14th overall. “Jennifer hit some great passing shots, but I got down on myself after the first set. I played some bad shots at the wrong time.”

The second set was tied 3-3 before Capriati won the next two games in 10 points combined. She broke Garrison’s service for a 5-3 lead with the help of three impressive backhand winners.

Martinez, of Spain, rebuffed a bid for a second straight upset victory by Grossman, rated 57th overall from Grove City, Ohio.

In her previous match, Grossman used a second-set comeback to ignite a three-set victory over No. 5 Jana Novotna.

Grossman won her service for the first time in the match to take a 2-0 lead over Martinez in the second set, but Martinez regained control by winning the following three games.

“It was a good match for me,” Martinez said. “I think I’m playing much better than the other day. I’m hitting the ball very well.”