Primed for One Match

Jennifer Capriati, one match from returning to the French Open semifinals for the first time since 1990, wanted to clarify a point of history about her debut here as a 14-year-old . . .

When the story circulated that she thought Notre Dame was a football stadium.

“I didn’t really say that, my brother did,” Capriati said Monday, smiling.

Capriati’s Parisian joy ride in 1990 ended at the hands of Monica Seles, who went on to win. Eleven years later, the fourth-seeded Capriati is one of three players to have reached the quarterfinals without losing a set. The others are No. 14 Justine Henin of Belgium and, inexplicably, Francesca Schiavone of Italy. Schiavone, who ranks 54th and is playing in only her third Grand Slam event, will play top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland today.

Schiavone and four others reached their first Grand Slam quarterfinals--Henin, No. 12 Kim Clijsters of Belgium, qualifier Petra Mandula of Hungary and 17-year-old Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia.

The featured quarterfinal will match Capriati and No. 6 Serena Williams. Capriati has a 2-1 edge in their meetings, having won their last two matches, but Williams beat her on clay at the German Open two years ago. Serena said she was motivated by the first-round loss of her older sister Venus.

“Venus really says to me, ‘Serena I want you to take this title,’ ” Serena said. “ ‘If you can’t do it for you, do it for me.’ Maybe that has something to do with it. But I try to do well even if she’s not playing in the tournaments.”

In the other quarterfinals, Clijsters plays Mandula and Henin faces Krasnoroutskaya.