Capriati Guts Out Victory

By RANDY HARVEY

July 4, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

WIMBLEDON, England —

Whatever Jennifer Capriati lacked in tennis artistry, she made up for in persistence, winning a Center Court battle of attrition, nerves and calls for medical attention in a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-3 victory Tuesday over Serena Williams.

But it was clear from the other women’s quarterfinal matches that Capriati, who has won the Australian and French opens this year, will have to play better in the waning days of the fortnight if she is to win Wimbledon, the third of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Only three women have won all four major tournaments, also including the U.S. Open, in the same year. The last one was Steffi Graf in 1988.

In less than the 2 hours 27 minutes it took Capriati to prevail over Williams, Justine Henin and Venus Williams charged through their matches on Court 1. Henin beat former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, 6-1, 6-0, in 57 minutes and Venus beat Nathalie Tauziat, 7-5, 6-1, in exactly one hour.

Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters had to wait--and wait and wait--until the Capriati-Williams match and the resumption of Monday’s suspended fourth-round men’s match between Tim Henman and Todd Martin were completed for their appointment on Center Court.

But they didn’t linger, Davenport winning, 6-1, 6-2, in 48 minutes.

In Thursday’s semifinals, No. 2 Venus Williams and No. 3 Davenport will meet in a rematch of last year’s final, won by Williams, and No. 4 Capriati will play No. 8 Henin.

Based on her play in her six matches so far, Capriati will not be favored to emerge as a finalist. But odds were against her being in this position after slipping into tennis oblivion for five years in the ‘90s as she battled personal problems, among them a 1994 misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.

Odds were against her again in the second set Tuesday, when she was two points from a straight-set defeat.

That was only minutes after a bizarre delay, which began with Williams calling for the trainer to attend to her during a break. She complained of an upset stomach, which she revealed later was caused by a virus she has been carrying since last week. The trainer gave her Pepto-Bismol, then was summoned by Capriati. She and the trainer left the court together so that Capriati’s strained buttocks muscle could be massaged. At that point, Capriati and Williams could have used male quarterfinalist Goran Ivanisevic’s third alter ego, the one he calls Emergency 911.

When Capriati returned, she was moving deliberately. Trailing 4-5, she was serving to stay in the match when she fell behind 30-love. But she won four consecutive points, then broke Williams’ serve to gain control. She broke Williams again in the final game of the set to win, 7-5.

“She definitely sucked it up and started playing some great tennis at that point,” Williams said. “I definitely think she went out there and just went for broke, didn’t have anything to lose.”

The statistics sheet afterward looked like one from a junior girls’ match. Most glaring was the column showing that Williams committed 44 unforced errors. Capriati committed 21 herself, and her game was far short of the brilliance that has come to be expected from her.

Her saving grace was that Williams played worse. Capriati lost her serve six times, Williams eight. Capriati double-faulted seven times, Williams six. Capriati connected on only 58% of her first serves, Williams on 53%. They didn’t do much better when the ball was in play. For every good shot, there were three bad ones.

At one point, John McEnroe, commenting for the BBC, suggested that Capriati and Williams retire to the dressing room to allow Henman and Martin to complete their match, “then regroup and come back when they’re playing better.”

Capriati, with new life, finally began playing better in the third set, going ahead, 5-0. But it was also apparent that Williams was suffering. She rushed through the fourth game, all but giving it away, then urgently asked for a timeout so that she could go to the dressing room. She complained of nausea.

She returned, lost the fifth game, then charged back to 5-3. But her deficit was too large.

Williams later said that she’d thought about withdrawing before her fourth-round victory Monday. WTA trainer Michelle Gebrian didn’t confirm that but said that Williams has been complaining for several days of illness.

“It doesn’t matter,” Capriati said. “I think I know the truth inside. I think most people do. It’s only important for me to know. I mean, I could turn around and say I was dealing with my own thing out there with my leg.

“You know, it’s pretty much the same things that happen every time I play her, so I’m used to that.”

When Capriati beat her in a tournament earlier in the year in Florida, Williams said she had a knee injury. She also lost to Capriati in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Williams, who complained of food poisoning when she lost to Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, acknowledged that she usually has an excuse, calling herself a hypochondriac. But, based on her explanation and the report from the trainer, it seems as if she meant that she suffers from psychosomatic ailments, becoming injured or ill in pressure situations.

“I wasn’t in pain, I was just--yeah, I was in pain,” she said. “I still think I could have won, had I just toughed up for a couple more points.”

A loser’s lament. In this case, though, it was probably true. No one really won this match, although that won’t be remembered if Capriati goes on to complete the Grand Slam.

“I’m not thinking about that at all,” she said. “There are more obstacles coming, the next match.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BOXSCORE

Quarterfinal match. Jennifer Capriati (4) def. Serena Williams (5), 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-3

1st-Serve Percentage

Capriati 58 S. Williams 53

Service Aces

Capriati 1 S. Williams 9

Double Faults

Capriati 7 S. Williams 6

Unforced Errors

Capriati 21 S. Williams 44