Seles Goes Out, Capriati Is In

In the ever-changing landscape of the State Farm Evert Cup, Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini pulled out Tuesday because of injuries, and Jennifer Capriati accepted a wild card and will play.

Thus, the much-anticipated clash between Seles and Steffi Graf (who accepted a wild card Monday night) will not take place. Those eager to catch a glimpse of the elusive Seles, only months into her comeback, will now have a chance to see the evasive Capriati, one month into her comeback.

Seles, whose participation here has been on-again-off-again for a week, has not sufficiently recovered from a shoulder injury that she suffered in January at the Australian Open, which she won for the fourth time. The injury makes it difficult to raise her left arm to serve or hit overheads.

Seles has been shuttling between her home in Florida and the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo., for treatment. A news release issued Tuesday evening said only that the injury required rest; Seles is entered in the Lipton Championships, which begin March 18 at Key Biscayne, Fla.

Sabatini injured her right hamstring and is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.

Capriati will enter the tournament unranked. Graf, co-ranked No. 1 with Seles, won the tournament in 1994. The women begin play Friday at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort at Indian Wells.

Last month Capriati, 19, played in her first professional tournament in more than two years. She had announced her comeback at the Paris Open on Feb. 12 but sustained an injury in training on the morning of her first match.

Capriati played the next week at Essen, Germany, and made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Jana Novotna. She reported herself fit and happy to be back on tour. Her thoughts about her time off the tour are unknown, as officials forbade questions of that nature.

Before the match in Germany, Capriati last played on the tour in November 1994, a comeback that lasted one match. Before that, Capriati’s last match had been at the 1993 U.S. Open.

While away from the tour, Capriati was arrested on charges of shoplifting a $15 ring in December of 1993 and six months later was arrested in a Coral Gables, Fla., hotel room and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

She continued to play tennis, however, and moved from Rancho Mirage to Wesley Chapel, Fla., outside Tampa, to live and train with her father.

The addition of Capriati may help to lessen the blow of Seles’ absence. In January, when Seles announced her ambitious schedule of playing four consecutive weeks, some questioned her fitness to do so.

Seles spent nearly 2 1/2 years off the tour after being stabbed in the back while playing a match in Germany in April of 1993. Despite her success since returning--she won the first tournament she entered, got to the final of the U.S. Open before losing to Graf and won a tournament in Sydney before winning the Australian Open--Seles has been dogged by injuries.

Given her importance to this event, which has changed formats this year, her loss is acutely felt. Asked a few months ago about the wisdom of Seles’ schedule and the possibility for injury, Chris Evert said, “In a tournament of this magnitude, you always cross your fingers and hope you get either the No. 1 or No. 2 player in the world,” Evert said.

“A lot of it is riding on Monica, not only because she is one of the top players in the world, but because of how she has come back. She has all the fans on her side. Everyone is curious to see how she’s playing. She has that added star power. I know I would be very disappointed if she pulled out. But that’s not going to happen.”