Capriati Gets a Quick Victory

Jennifer Capriati won her opening match at the Hong Kong Ladies Challenge in 34 minutes, routing Indonesia’s Angelique Widjaja, 6-0, 6-1.

The world’s second-ranked player, preparing to defend her Australian Open title this month, was hardly tested by the 17-year-old rookie, ranked 147th.

“I think I am in better form than I was at this time last year,” said Capriati, who also won the French Open last season.

“I think I am in better shape for the Australian Open and that’s my goal.”

Capriati will play Amanda Coetzer in today’s semifinals.

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Top-seeded Venus Williams, tuning up for the Australian Open, routed eighth-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Australian hardcourt championships at Gold Coast.

Williams had nine aces but also nine double-faults while earning her 18th consecutive WTA Tour victory.

Williams’ scheduled opponent in today’s semifinals, Russian Nadia Petrova, might have to pull out of the match after upsetting fifth-seeded Italian Silvia Farina-Elia.

Petrova strained her right shoulder midway through the 7-6 (4), 7-5 win.

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Australia was forced out of the Hopman Cup team tournament at Perth, Australia, after tests showed Lleyton Hewitt, the world’s top-ranked player, has chicken pox.

The Australian team of Hewitt and Alicia Molik was scheduled to play Spain, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s final.

In Thursday’s other match, Switzerland beat Argentina, 2-1.

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Anna Kournikova’s bid for her first WTA Tour title ended with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Anna Smashnova in the ASB Bank Classic semifinals today at Auckland, New Zealand.

The Russian’s ranking fell from No. 8 to No. 74 in 2001, when she missed eight months because of a broken foot.

Smashnova, ranked 88th, is aiming for her third WTA Tour title.

Smashnova’s opponent in the final will be No. 5-seeded Tatiana Panova, who eliminated Croatian qualifier Silvija Talaja, 6-3, 6-2.

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Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov lost to Rainer Schuettler, 7-5, 6-4, in the Qatar Open quarterfinals at Doha.

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Mark Philippoussis beat Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands, 6-0, 6-3, at the Australian hardcourt championships at Adelaide.

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Lindsay Davenport, the world’s top-ranked women’s player, has withdrawn from next week’s tour event in Sydney, Australia, because of an injured right knee. Davenport’s agent, Tony Godsick, said she will make a decision early next week regarding the Australian Open.

Miscellany

Malibu surfing legend Mickey Dora, 67, died in Montecito after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Dora was nicknamed “Da Cat” for his surfing prowess on the waves of Southern California in the 1950s and ‘60s.

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Lawton Redman won his second race of the U.S. biathlon trials at Midway, Utah, and secured a berth on the Olympic team. Redman won the 10-kilometer sprint in 26 minutes 50.5 seconds. Jay Hakkinen also locked up a berth with his second-place finish in 27:12.6, as did Jeremy Teela, who was third in 27:23.1.

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A man who caddied for Michelle McGann 12 years ago has been charged with stalking the seven-time LPGA tournament winner. Patrick Hallett, 43, of Monterey caddied for McGann for one week in 1989 and has been writing McGann ever since, according to a police report filed Dec. 13.

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Defender Frankie Hejduk of German first-division club Bayer Leverkusen was recalled to the U.S. national team for the first time in nine months, part of a 28-man roster invited to training camp for soccer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Jan. 18-Feb. 3 Gold Cup is the biennial soccer championship for the North and Central American and Caribbean region.

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Swedish yacht Assa Abloy and British skipper Neal McDonald won the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race at Auckland.