AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Graf Runs Capriati Off Court

Steffi Graf had a new plan of her own.

Graf sent Jennifer Capriati scurrying from corner to corner today in the Australian Open, wearing her down, 7-5, 6-2, in a total reversal of their match for the Olympic gold medal at Barcelona.

Graf, a three-time Australian champion, took the sting out of Capriati’s new net attack, pinning her to the baseline on her way to the semifinals.

“I kept her running around,” said the second-seeded Graf.

“I think it was a really good match, especially in the first set. There weren’t really many mistakes in the first set. It was some great tennis. She was very tired by the beginning of the second set.”

Fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain used much the same strategy to beat Mary Joe Fernandez, 7-5, 6-4, setting up a semifinal match against Graf. Sanchez Vicario has lost in the semifinals of this tournament the last two years.

Fifth-seeded Fernandez double-faulted to lose the first set and blew leads of 2-0 and 4-2 in the second set. She won only two points while being broken in her last two service games.

Graf’s deep groundstrokes and drop shots exposed Capriati’s lack of quickness.

The 16-year-old Capriati, who played most of last week with a virus and fever, looked tired in the second set.

“I was getting run around a lot, but I wasn’t feeling ill or anything,” Capriati said.

Capriati couldn’t get to the net with Graf’s shots landing near the baseline. When Capriati won the gold at Barcelona, it was the other way around as Graf chased deep balls on the clay courts.

Capriati, seeded seventh, approached the net more than 50 times in some earlier matches against lesser opponents. Against Graf, Capriati went to the net only 11 times, winning five points. Graf won nine of 15 approaches.