American Beatrice Capra loses to Maria Sharapova in straight sets at U.S. Open

Reporting from New York — 

The first indication that it isn’t always rain that creates havoc with tennis tournaments came when 18-year-old Beatrice Capra had to chase down her lime green visor, which had been blown off her head in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

With gusts hitting 22 mph at the U.S. Open on Saturday, a ball might occasionally do a little shimmy, a little shake in the air, as if it were auditioning for “Dancing With the Stars.”

A flying visor was the least of Capra’s problems. Maria Sharapova, the 2006 U.S. Open champion who is seeded No. 14 this year, beat Capra, 6-0, 6-0.

Better tennis is predicted in the fourth round because Sharapova will get a shot at top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, the 2009 runner-up who was similarly untested in her 6-1, 6-0 win over Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan.

There was less complaining about the conditions from the winners.

Top-seeded Roger Federer hit through the wind. If the atmosphere got wonky, Federer would hold off on his ball toss and when he walked off the court, Federer wasn’t disheveled at all.

He beat Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, and crowd-pleasing American Mardy Fish not only dealt with the challenge of the wind but also the off-speed stuff coming off the racket of 32-year-old Arnaud Clement. Fish pulled out the third-round match over the oldest man left in the draw, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Next up for the 28-year-old Fish will be third-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat Fish’s friend James Blake, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in Arthur Ashe.

Blake, 30, has always enjoyed the rowdy atmosphere at U.S. Open night matches, but he could not provide enough good tennis to pump up the crowd Saturday.

“It was windy,” Djokovic said, “but I loved it. I say thanks to the schedulers.”

While Mathieu called Saturday’s weather conditions “impossible,” Federer said he controlled them.

“I kind of felt comfortable,” said Federer, who had a string of five consecutive Open championships stopped by last year’s winner, Juan Martin del Potro. “You can use the wind to your advantage and play really great tennis. You have to be careful with it. Maybe not aim at the lines as much. After four games or so I knew what I could do and what I couldn’t.”

Upset of the day

Fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who was a finalist here in 2008, found nothing to her liking Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. She was bothered by the wind and her sore ankle and was complaining all the way.

Jankovic was knocked out in the third round by Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

Stat of the day

Sharapova’s 6-0, 6-0 win over Capra was the first shutout this late in the women’s draw at the U.S. Open since Martina Navratilova did it 1989.

Quote of the day

Capra: “When you’re losing that bad it’s just in your head, like, ‘Please, just let me win one game.’ ”

Capra recently got her high school diploma from Laurel Springs School in Ojai and, even after her lopsided loss to Sharapova, is considering quitting juniors.

Sunday’s featured matches

At 8 a.m. PDT in Arthur Ashe Stadium, second-seeded and defending champion Kim Clijsters against Ana Ivanovic, who won the French Open in 2008, the year she earned the No. 1 world ranking; Shahar Peer (16) takes on Venus Williams (3), who is searching for first Open title since she won consecutive championships in 2000 and 2001; beginning at 4 p.m., Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny (12) against American John Isner (18) and fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia against 12th-seeded Elena Dementieva. Not before 9:30 a.m. in Louis Armstrong Stadium, 20th-seeded Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks against 14th-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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