The Hindu : Capriati reaches quarterfinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Capriati reaches quarterfinals

NEW YORK SEPT. 2. In a rain-interrupted match that ended more than six hours after it began, sixth-seeded Jennifer Capriati reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the third straight year by beating No. 11 Elena Dementieva 6-2, 7-5 on Monday.

French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, meanwhile, beat Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 in 57 minutes to make the Open's round of eight for the first time.

All four scheduled men's fourth-round matches were postponed because of downpours, but organisers tried to fit in the women's action.

After Henin-Hardenne and Safina, the younger sister of 2000 Open champion Marat Safin, warmed up, tournament referee Brian Earley made them sit while he inspected the court. With the second-seeded Henin-Hardenne urging him to let them play, Earley finally conceded to the request.

Fewer than 50 fans were on hand at the Grandstand Court when No. 7 Anstasia Myskina and two-time Grand Slam title winner Mary Pierce began their encounter a little after 08.30 IST. When play was stopped for the day about 40 minutes later, Myskina led 4-2 in the first set, while No. 15 Ai Sugiyama and No. 29 Francesca Schiavone were tied 6-6.

A total of 69 matches, including one in the doubles, junior and senior tournaments, were postponed without a shot being hit. The last time an entire day at the Open was rained out was on Sept. 4, 1988.

Capriati had time to relax on Monday, even catching up with some sleep during one of the delays.

Once they did get on the court, Capriati, a three-time Major champion, and Dementieva, a 2000 Open semifinalist, were given 10 minutes to warm up, twice what's normally allotted. And then they finally started, only to be ushered off the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium after 13 minutes, enough time for Capriati to go up 4-0.

A break of nearly four and a half hours followed. Then they played another 36 minutes until sprinkles prompted the chair umpire to stop action, drawing boos from the few thousand fans in the stadium. Capriati led 6-2, 3-2.

After about another hour, play resumed. This time, Capriati finished the job.

The players immediately traded breaks of service, and then Capriati let Dementieva take a 5-4 lead in the second set by getting broken at love with an errant forehand.

Capriati was rushing even more than she usually does, and that caused some mistakes. But then she also straightened out her game in a hurry, slapping herself on the thigh for encouragement.

She broke back to 5-5, then held to 6-5 with help from her only ace. At this point, rain was trickling down, and Capriati was eager to get home. She chewed on her towel during the changeover, then moved to the baseline, ready to receive serve. Dementieva sat as long as allowed, making Capriati wait alone on court.

A beautiful backhand topspin lob got Capriati within two points of victory, and she wrapped it up with a good deep forehand and then a backhand passing shot. In the end, they played for 1 hour, 12 minutes.

Capriati finished with a 28-14 edge in winners, and Dementieva committed seven double-faults, with some serves landing a few feet out.

``It was just getting pretty annoying. I was getting tired,'' Capriati said on Monday. ``It's hard to play matches like that once you're out there because your rhythm is off.''

While she snoozed, other players killed time by reading or playing video games. Agassi could be seen wandering in the halls of the main stadium with his young son in his arms, while Wimbledon champion Roger Federer played chess against Max Mirnyi and then hit tennis balls to scattered fans in the stands.

The results:

Women (fourth round): 6-Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) bt 11-Elena Dementieva (Rus) 6-2, 7-5; 2-Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel) bt Dinara Safina (Rus) 6-0, 6-3; 15-Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) vs 29-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 6-6; 7-Anastasia Myskina (Rus) vs Mary Pierce (Fra) 4-2.

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