Seles Handles Capriati Again

Kick-started by an epic semifinal at the U.S. Open in 1991, when both players were teenagers unleashing powerful ground strokes across the net at impossible angles, their rivalry promised to galvanize women’s tennis through the ‘90s.

But Monica Seles, who won as a 17-year-old that day en route to her first U.S. Open title, never has been the same after being stabbed during a changeover at a match in Germany in 1993 and Jennifer Capriati self-destructed because of personal problems and didn’t make it that far in a Grand Slam tournament again before reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open in January.

Last year, after losing to Seles in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, Capriati broke down in the interview room, tearfully pleading with reporters to stop asking about her troubled past.

She was more composed after another round-of-16 loss to Seles on Sunday night at the U.S. Open, perhaps because Seles’ 6-3, 6-4 victory was so predictable.

Seles, expected to play top-seeded Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, is 46-0 this year against all but the top four players on the WTA Tour.

The problem for Seles is, she’s 0-9 against the top four.

“I know,” she said.

Still, she didn’t expect to have an easy time against Capriati, who has revived her career.

“I really had to be on my toes,” Seles said. “Thank goodness I started off really well. But starting off so well caught up with me at the end. I didn’t really finish that well.”

She’ll have to be better against Hingis, who was leading against 11th-seeded Sandrine Testud of France, 6-2, 1-0, when play was suspended because of rain.

Hingis’ match, pushed from the afternoon to late evening because of the rain, was further delayed because her boyfriend, Magnus Norman, needed 4 hours 6 minutes to dispatch Max Mirnyi.

“She’s going to give me a lot of . . . now,” Norman said. “She’s probably [ticked off] because she had to play so late. She’ll probably kill me when I get home.”

Earlier, third-seeded Venus Williams, surprisingly vulnerable in a third-round victory over Meghann Shaughnessy, was back on her game in defeating Magui Serna of Spain, 6-2, 6-2, in 53 minutes.

“I actually liked the other night,” the Wimbledon champion said of her test against Shaughnessy. “In the first couple of rounds, I didn’t feel I was playing very well. She actually came out and played very well. I feel very warmed up now. I feel more in a groove and more ready to compete.”

That may be, but Williams again pooh-poohed the prospect of a battle-of-the-sexes matchup against four-time U.S. Open winner John McEnroe, who reportedly has been approached by Donald Trump to meet Williams in a $1-million, winner-take-all match at his Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

“I think that back in the ‘70s, Billie Jean King did it the right way,” Williams said of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs at the Astrodome in 1973. “Right now I’m just really focusing on trying to win this U.S. Open more than anything . . . just competing with the women. At some later date, I’ll be ready to think about competing with men.”

Next for Williams is eighth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France, who rolled over ninth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, 6-3, 6-2, for her first victory in 12 matches against the former U.S. Open champion.

“Arantxa is one of the best players since 10 years, and it’s always nice to beat a player like this,” Tauziat said. “I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a fighter. She have a good spirit on the court. To beat her, it’s really a good result.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Matches

The schedule of highlighted matches on the show courts and others involving seeded players. Play begins at 8 a.m. PDT:

DAY SESSION

* Anke Huber (10), Germany, vs. Mary Pierce (4), France

* Serena Williams (5) vs. Jelena Dokic, Australia

* Pete Sampras (4) vs. Hyung-Taik Lee, South Korea

NIGHT SESSION

* Justine Henin, Belgium, vs. Lindsay Davenport (2)

* Lleyton Hewitt (9), Australia, vs. Thomas Enqvist (7), Sweden

Glance

* Today on TV: 8 a.m., Channel 2; 4:30 p.m., USA.

* Stat of the day: 6 hours 8 minutes--The amount of time it took to complete the Marat Safin-Sebastien Grojsean match. Rain delays accounted for nearly three hours.

* Quote of the day: “I feel very warmed up now. I feel more in a groove and more ready to compete.”--Venus Williams, after defeating Magui Serna.