TENNIS / JERRY CROWE : Capriati Considers a Comeback

Jennifer Capriati, who celebrated her 18th birthday on March 29, has accepted an invitation to be an alternate on the U.S. team that will play in the Federation Cup July 18-24 at Frankfurt, Germany.

“She indicated that, after high school, she’s really going to start thinking about tennis again,” said Marty Riessen, captain of the U.S. team.

Capriati, who hasn’t played since August, said in January that she was taking a break while rekindling an interest in the sport. She indicated, however, that she probably would return after graduating from Pascual County High in Saddlebrook, Fla., on June 9.

Wimbledon starts 11 days later.

Capriati, who has earned almost $1.5 million on the WTA Tour and won a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games, has moved back with her family after living on her own in a nearby apartment for several months.

“I know she’s been out hitting the ball and working out a little bit, getting back slowly, at her own pace,” her mother, Denise, said from Wesley Chapel, Fla. “Obviously, she wants to play again. It’s just a matter of getting school over and done with, then totally focusing on whatever she wants to do.

“She’s doing it the smart way, just kind of enjoying the rest of her senior year and hanging out.”

Riessen said Capriati was receptive to the idea of being an alternate on a team that will include Mary Joe Fernandez, Zina Garrison Jackson, Gigi Fernandez and another high school senior, Lindsay Davenport, 17, of Murrieta Valley.

Capriati, who helped the U.S. team win the Federation Cup in 1990, will be called upon only if one of the others is injured.

“Right now, we couldn’t pick Jennifer for the team because she’s not playing,” Riessen said.

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Mixed reviews: Riessen welcomes the transformation of the Federation Cup, which next year will drop its one-week, one-site-a-year format to adopt a schedule similar to that of the Davis Cup.

This year’s eight quarterfinalists will make up next year’s World Group, with the non-qualifiers relegated to zonal competition. Ties consisting of four singles matches, followed by a doubles match, will be played over two days at sites chosen by the host nations.

The quarterfinals will be played in April, semifinals in July and the final in November.

“I think it’s the one chance for the event to grow into being a serious event,” Riessen said. “Right now, it’s a nice event, but it doesn’t get that much coverage and notice in the total calendar. I think it needs a jump-start.”

Gigi Fernandez, the world’s No. 1 doubles player, wasn’t happy about the placement of the doubles match, believing that it should be played before the last two singles matches. Most contests, she said, will be decided before the doubles match is played.

“I’m really upset about it,” she said. “If doubles is going to be dead, why do I want to schlep all around the world to cheer?”

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Passage from India: Tom Gullickson, in his first year as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, was prepared for the worst before he made his debut against India last month at New Delhi.

Despite his fears, the U.S. team of Jim Courier, Todd Martin, Patrick McEnroe and Richey Reneberg was a 5-0 winner.

And nobody got sick.

“We took our own chef and we took a lot of our own food and all of our own water,” Gullickson said. “And we even had the guys brush their teeth with Evian water, so they didn’t use any water from the hotel tap system.

“Actually, I thought everything went quite well. Everybody stayed healthy, and when we got down there, all the boys worked pretty hard. There was a real good team spirit and a real camaraderie between the players.”

Gullickson said Courier and Pete Sampras have expressed interest in playing against the Netherlands in a quarterfinal match July 15-17 at Rotterdam.

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Let’s play five: The WTA Tour is not expected to oppose the decision by the Australian Open to change the format of its women’s final from a best-of-three to a best-of-five-sets event.

“I think it will help showcase women’s tennis a bit,” said Gerard Smith, the tour’s executive director. “I’ve spoken to several of the top players and there doesn’t seem to be any objection to it. I think the players are capable of staging a very exciting five-set final.”

The season-ending Virginia Slims Championships has been the only event with a best-of-five women’s final.

It has gone to five sets once, Monica Seles defeating Gabriela Sabatini in 1990.