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Jennifer Capriati is halfway to the Grand Slam, but her next stop is Wimbledon and probably her weakest surface.
By DARRELL FRY
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 25, 2001
Of all the milestones Jennifer Capriati has reached in her well-chronicled comeback, this week marks the start of what could end in her greatest achievement.
Wimbledon, the third of tennis' four major championships, begins today with Capriati holding the first two titles, putting her halfway toward a Grand Slam.
A win at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in September would make Capriati the fourth woman to win the Slam in the same calendar year and the first since Steffi Graf in 1988.
Even though grass is not Capriati's best surface, it's hard to discount her chance because she is playing the best tennis of her tumultuous career. She is fit and leaner than she has ever been. She has won three titles and reached the finals of three other tournaments.
Ranked 267th as recently as 1998, she has returned to the game's elite, ranked fourth in the world entering Wimbledon. She has beaten the big names in recent months: Martina Hingis (twice), Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles and Serena Williams.
She showed resolve and grit in winning the French Open this month, surviving the longest third set in a Grand Slam women's final since 1948. She outlasted Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.
"She's halfway there," said semiretired pro Martina Navratilova, part of Turner Sports' Wimbledon broadcast team. "But it gets harder and harder."
The strain has begun to show. Capriati, 25, was scheduled to play a tuneup event last week but withdrew, citing "extreme fatigue," according to WTA Tour officials.
The attention and pressure will grow as Capriati, who lives and trains at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, tries to advance at Wimbledon. Tour officials will try to shield her from the crush of fans and media, but the spectacle of a Slam run is difficult to escape.
"I think anything is feasible right now," Capriati told reporters in Paris of her Slam chance. "I didn't maybe expect I would win my first, or second in a row. Who knows what can happen?"
Capriati, seeded fourth, has said she is comfortable playing on grass, but her withdrawal from last week's tour stop in the Netherlands means she enters Wimbledon without playing a grass-court tournament this year. A semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1991, she hasn't advanced past the fourth round since her comeback, losing in the second round in 1998 and 1999.
Working in Capriati's favor is a draw that's missing Anna Kournikova, Mary Pierce and Seles. Capriati has a moderate road to the quarterfinals, where she could face Williams, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year.
None of the top contenders -- Davenport, Serena and Venus Williams, Hingis -- have been sharp lately. Davenport played her first tournament in nearly three months last week after nursing a knee injury. Venus Williams is coming off a first-round loss at the French Open, where Serena lost in the quarterfinals. Hingis hasn't won a Grand Slam tournament in 21/2 years (1999 Australian Open), although she remains ranked No. 1.
If Capriati can bag Wimbledon, the Slam will be decided on the U.S. Open hard courts, perhaps her best surface. But if she doesn't win another tournament this season, she still has had a remarkable year. Her rebound from drug problems, burnout and inactivity probably makes her a lock for comeback player of the year. With a few more titles, she might even be the player of the year.
Capriati is trying not to think that far ahead. She wants the focus on Wimbledon and her opening match against unseeded Maria Alejandra Vento of Venezuela. For the most part, Capriati lets others talk about her Grand Slam chances.
"She's a long way from it. She's not even to the Wimbledon final," Navratilova said. "But she has to be one of the favorites, obviously, going in (to Wimbledon) because she's got more confidence than anybody. And it's real. It's not just saying, 'Oh, I can win.' It's real."
WIMBLEDON: Wimbledon, England. Play begins 8 a.m. today. TV: TNT.
Today's featured matches at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. Play begins on Centre Court and Court 1 at 8 this morning, all other courts at 7.
CENTRE COURT: Pete Sampras (1), United States, vs. Francisco Clavet, Spain.
Jennifer Capriati (4), United States, vs. Maria Alejandra Vento, Venezuela
COURT 1: Marat Safin (4), Russia, vs. Julian Knowle, Austria.
Martina Hingis (1), Switzerland, vs. Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain.
COURT 2: Rita Kuti Kis, Hungary, vs. Serena Williams (5), United States.
Artem Derepasko, Russia, vs. Tim Henman (6), Britain.