Capriati Caps Her Comeback

The end came so quickly, so decisively, that Jennifer Capriati didn’t have a chance to become nervous, nor did her constant companion, her father and coach, Stefano Capriati, who was sitting close, yet so far away.

It made such sense. She always had been so far ahead of her time--whether it was the swift rise at 14, the rapid decline by 17--that match point at the Australian Open shouldn’t have been any different. Martina Hingis served, and seconds later the ball was landing down the line, a clean backhand winner.

The present took out the past on a picture-perfect day here. At 24, the long climb back was complete, as the 12th-seeded Capriati defeated the top-seeded Hingis, 6-4, 6-3, in 63 minutes today in the final of the Australian Open. Her first Grand Slam title came long after many thought her best years had been squandered in a well-publicized burst of teen rebellion.

“I definitely lived up to the moment,” Capriati said.

She may not have felt nervous before the match point, but time slowed for her as she watched the shot fly down the line. Capriati let out a scream of joy when she saw the shot was good.

“It was just the slowest winner, it just kept going,” she said. “As soon as I saw it was clean, and I had done it, the reality just hit me then that, oh, my God.

“I just jumped for joy and that was it. I couldn’t believe it really happened.”

Stefano Capriati said the victory came so suddenly he did not have a chance to get nervous, either. Wearing a red, white and blue hat with stars, he called his son, Steven, at home and had an official bring the cellular phone to his daughter on the court.

“It’s a beautiful day,” Stefano Capriati said. “Everybody loves her. Today’s Jennifer’s day. I hope there are so many more days.

“You dream so many things. A human being without dreams is nothing.”

Said Capriati: “I’m never going to doubt myself in anything. If I can come home with a Grand Slam, anything is possible.”

Capriati had reached the semifinals of all the Grand Slam tournaments. At 14, she got to the final four of the French Open in what was her first Grand Slam event in 1990. She had never reached semifinals in Australia in five appearances but broke through, beating Monica Seles in the quarterfinals, and then defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals.

Despite having never appeared in a Grand Slam final, Capriati showed few nerves, hitting the ball with power and authority off both sides. She broke Hingis’ serve in the first game and took a 4-0 lead within the first 15 minutes.

The only time Capriati wavered was at 5-2 in the first set. Hingis broke her serve and then Capriati squandered two set points in the next game. Finally, she took the opening set on her third set point, blocking a backhand winner down the line when Hingis played a drop shot.

Hingis, who was playing in her fifth consecutive Australian Open final, said she had little left after beating Serena Williams in the quarterfinals in three difficult sets and then Venus Williams in the semifinals.

“Well, I guess I didn’t have the power today anymore to go out there,” Hingis said. “The way she played, she didn’t leave too many chances. I made too many mistakes in the beginning. Being 5-1 down is a little bit too late in a way to almost come back

“I don’t know, mentally I just didn’t have it anymore to go out there and fight for every point. It was a very long trip, which was just one match too many.”

Hingis, who has not won a Grand Slam event since taking the title here in 1999, said she did not take Capriati lightly.

“It’s hard to find the solution to someone you’ve beaten five times before,” Hingis said. “She just played very well. There were not too many shots she missed today. I would have to play the way I did against Serena.

“When she’s on a roll, she’s really hot. I have a lot of respect for her knowledge of the game. On the court she belongs to the top five, mentally, if she is out there.”

Capriati’s road back after an arrest for shoplifting and on drug charges has not been smooth. As recently as late 1998, she was relegated to attempting to qualify for tournaments such as San Diego.

“To me, it hasn’t seemed fast, it’s seemed very long,” Capriati said.

So often, she would leave the Australian Open in tears, breaking down in news conferences after tough losses. That, and more, was why she tried to relish the moment, taking in everything on the court during the awards ceremony and even during routine interviews with the media.

“I hope to be in many more finals with you,” Capriati said, addressing Hingis during the awards ceremony. “You’ve had lots of times here, and I’m glad I finally got to be in one.

“Who would have thought I would have ever made it here after so much has happened?” Capriati said. “Dreams do come true if you keep believing in yourself. Anything can happen.”

Before this, her biggest chance had been at the U.S. Open in 1991 against Seles in the semifinals. Capriati served for the match twice in the third set and lost in a heartbreaking tiebreaker.

“I think I was too young to think about it like that,” she said. “Then I just played every match and took it match by match.

“The only time I thought about it was in that semifinals against Monica, ‘Wow I could win a Grand Slam.’ After that I didn’t have more opportunities.”

That changed today. Capriati said she had chills and goose bumps when she made small talk with Hingis after the awards ceremony on the court. She was now a Grand Slam titleholder.

“It’s unbelievable. No one can take that away from you,” Capriati said.

And finally, the girl who was supposed to be the next Chris Evert had completed the circle. On this day, Jennifer Capriati became the first Jennifer Capriati.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Australian Open

MEN’S FINAL

Andre Agassi vs.

Arnaud Clement,

7 p.m., ESPN

Clement may be short in stature, but not in power department. D5

The Box Score

The box score of No. 12 Jennifer Capriati’s 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final of the Australian Open:

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Capriati Hingis First serve pct. 67 71 Aces 1 0 Double faults 3 2 Pct. 1st-serve points won 67 55 Pct. 2nd-serve points won 71 47 Winners (includes service) 16 13 Unforced errors 20 32 Break points 3-6 1-1 Net points 7-10 11-17 Total points 65 51

*--*