Capriati Eliminated From La Costa Event

The first featured match of the Acura Classic women’s tennis event Monday night featured Jennifer Capriati going away in a hurry.

The one-time prodigy, now 24, was out-battled in the first set and disappeared in the second, losing to Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, 6-4, 6-0, in 1 hour 6 minutes. The second set took 21 minutes, disappointing a crowd of 4,522 that had done its best to back Capriati and get her motivated as the match turned against her.

Afterward, Capriati, once No. 6 in the world, a two-time winner here and the 1992 Olympic champion, shrugged off the loss by saying that Likhovtseva had just played better, that it was tough playing the first match of the tournament at night and it “wasn’t my fault” because her opponent had played so well.

“Whatever . . . oh, well,” she said.

She had played a spirited first set and was serving at 4-3 and 40 love. But she lost that game and went away fast after that. She had 10 double faults, including four while serving at 0-3 of the second set. Those double faults came immediately after the crowd had greeted her with loud encouragement as she came out to serve. One man yelled, “Think Positive.” Just over a minute later, her final double fault of the game sailed 10 feet past the service line.

Likhovtseva said that by the time she got to her post-match news conference she had already been asked the question about whether she thought Capriati tanked the last set. She answered diplomatically, “No, I think she was just rushing at the end.”

Capriati ended her news conference abruptly when she was asked if she had gained some weight.

“That’s irrelevant,” she said, adding, “Have you?”

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Lisa Raymond figured she had made her selection to the U.S. women’s Olympic doubles team a “no-brainer.”

The former Florida All-American and NCAA singles champion is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s doubles, and even started the year by getting a Grand Slam event title under her belt, winning the Australian Open with Rennae Stubbs of Australia.

But when the team was officially named Monday, the doubles spot went to the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who won the Wimbledon title three weeks ago. The Williams sisters, before winning at Wimbledon, hadn’t played in enough events to have a ranking. That victory gave them enough points to put them in the No. 20 spot in the world in doubles.

“Yes, they have a ranking now,” Raymond said, “but it sure isn’t No. 1 in the world.”

The person having the last call on the Olympic selection is team captain Billie Jean King. But the women players themselves made King’s job much more complicated when they decided, during an informal caucus this spring, that they would not go along with the International Tennis Federation’s offering to give each country’s team six players, rather than four, if that country voted to award regular tour points for achievement during the Games. It was meant to be an incentive to get more top players to play the Olympics.

The U.S men voted to take the six and award tour points, thus giving them a chance to select doubles specialists Alex O’Brien and Jared Palmer. Colorful and controversial Jeff Tarango was added as a fourth singles player.

But the women, feeling it would be unfair to give a handful of players who make the Olympic team a chance to get additional tour points, voted down the proposal and stuck King with a tough decision. And that decision, in which Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Monica Seles were designated singles players and Serena Williams was designated the doubles player to go with Venus, left the No. 1 Raymond out in the cold.

“If you are the top doubles player in the world and you are ready and able and willing to play in the Olympics, and you don’t get picked,” Raymond said, “there’s something wrong with the system.”