A Lapse by Capriati, a Collapse by Rubin

Would she stay or would she go?

At least Jennifer Capriati could control her destiny Saturday. Amelie Mauresmo couldn’t.

Thanks partly to Anastasia Myskina of Russia and Chanda Rubin, both Capriati and Mauresmo grabbed spots in today’s semifinals of the Bank of America WTA Tour Championships.

Mauresmo, of France, took the final step -- sitting in her hotel room in Santa Monica about 15 miles away -- when Rubin became unnerved in the second set of her match against Elena Dementieva of Russia at Staples Center before an announced crowd of 8,021. Rubin’s collapse was so complete, it became almost difficult to watch.

She led, 5-2, in the second set and served twice for a spot in the semifinals. But Dementieva would lose only one more game and won their round-robin match, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in 1 hour 57 minutes. Capriati then reached the final four despite the difficulty she had closing out Myskina, finally taking advantage of the Russian’s jittery volley to win, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, also in 1:57.

“I did everything I could to make myself feel better,” said Capriati, who has been hampered by strained hip flexors. “It wasn’t my best tennis. But I did what I had to do and tried to mix it up a lot. I had a difficult time pushing off.”

In Saturday’s third match -- which had no impact on the standings -- Ai Sugiyama of Japan defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 6-2, 6-4, in 67 minutes. So Sugiyama and Dementieva were able to save a little face on the final day of round-robin play by winning a match. Even if either had gone 0-3, she still would have taken home $100,000.

In today’s semifinals, Kim Clijsters of Belgium plays Capriati, followed by Henin-Hardenne against Mauresmo. Capriati leads Clijsters, 3-2, but Clijsters won both of their matches in 2003, including a three-set final at Stanford in July. Henin-Hardenne and Mauresmo are 1-1.

The only bit of drama in the Sugiyama-Henin-Hardenne match came when the Belgian, who will end the year as the No. 1-ranked player, appeared to roll her right ankle. It happened at the end of the first set, and Henin-Hardenne winced. This time, there was no need for triage on the sideline. Henin-Hardenne, who received medical treatment during a victory over Myskina on Thursday, said after Saturday’s match that the ankle was fine.

Anyway, her place in the semifinals was secure, and it appeared she would end up playing Rubin before the spectacular collapse. Mauresmo watched the Dementieva-Rubin match from her hotel room and spoke to French reporters afterward about the incredible twist of fortune.

“It feels good,” Mauresmo said. “It’s true, the situation was pretty weird, to watch on TV what was going to happen and to know if I’m going to be in the semifinals.

“It wasn’t going very well, but Dementieva was able to reverse the situation, so I’m going to go and buy her a nice gift.”

Said Dementieva, joking: “I am waiting for something.”

Coincidentally, Dementieva benefited at this tournament last year because of Mauresmo, getting into the field when the Frenchwoman withdrew because of an injured knee.

The margin between Mauresmo and Rubin was slender. You might say Mauresmo got in because she managed to take Clijsters to three sets Friday. Though Mauresmo, Rubin and Dementieva all finished group play at 1-2, Mauresmo moved on because she was 4-4 in sets in round-robin play. Rubin was 3-5, Dementieva 2-5.

Still, that would have been a moot point had Rubin not turned passive in the second set. A somber Rubin said the loss will stick with her, calling it a blown opportunity.

“It is just frustrating for me because there are not a lot of opportunities like this,” she said. “I’ve gone through some ups and downs. So it would have meant a lot for me to be in the semifinals.”

The proximity of the finish line may have been the problem.

“I definitely wanted to win the match.... I knew I could win [it], I really wanted to win, and a combination of those things really pushed me over the edge when it was time to settle down and just play and compete.”

That was the loser’s lament Saturday -- mental fragility. Myskina couldn’t press the advantage when it became clear that Capriati was fading badly. The Russian kept missing routine volleys in the third set.

“In practice, I would do it 10 out of 10,” Myskina said. “During the match, I was really shaky because I was feeling a lot of pressure.... So that is why I think I didn’t make it.”