January, 13th 2003
Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (Ticker) - Jennifer Capriati's quest
for three straight Australian Open titles came to an end Monday with a
first-round loss to Germany's Marlene Weingartner. The third-seeded Capriati
became the first defending champion ousted in the first round of the
Australian Open with a 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 defeat in the first evening match
in Rod Laver Arena.
Steffi Graf was the last women's title holder to lose in
the first round of a Grand Slam when she fell to Lori McNeil at Wimbledon in 1994.
Second seeds Andre Agassi and Venus Williams recorded straight-sets
victories earlier in the day.
Capriati came into the season's first Grand Slam in poor form, having lost
her only match of the year at the warm-up event in Sydney last week. Her
preparations for the new season were restricted by operations to both her
eyes a week after the 2002 season-ending WTA Championships in Los Angeles.
"I would have to say the recovery time wasn't enough, and I feel like I
just didn't give myself enough chance to fully prepare," she said.
"Probably if I wasn't the defending champion I wouldn't have shown up. I
probably should have considered that."
Capriati had pterygium removed. Pterygium is a growth of scar tissue and
blood vessels on the sun-exposed surface of the eye. The condition is caused
from excess exposure to the sun and makes vision cloudy.
"I think they're OK now," Capriati said of her
eyes. "I'm getting back to feeling normal again. I would say a few weeks,
maybe a month. I had the procedure done a week after I played in LA. I had
pterygiums removed in both eyes and had stiches in both eyes. For two weeks,
basically I was in the dark because I couldn't be in the sunlight because my
eyes were too sensitive.
I'm not trying to make excuses, that's for sure. But I have to say it
had a lot to do with my preparation for coming here."
Capriati has not won a tournament since her triumph here a year ago, when
she overcame excessive heat and Martina Hingis to win her third Grand Slam
crown. She became the first woman to save four match points in a final of a major.
"In a lot of ways I'm disappointed of course but I've got to look on the
positive side," the 26-year-old American said. "I came here as defending
champion and maybe I didn't feel quite myself but I but myself on the line
anyway and I have to give myself credit for that... even if I went out the
loser."
Capriati looked to be in charge against the 90th-ranked player in the world.
She won the first set easily and owned a 4-2 advantage in the second, but
soon wilted in the heat and humidity.
"Physically I felt I started to get a bit tired (in the second set) and
she just got on a roll there," Capriati said. "I felt the momentum swing and
physically and mentally I wasn't quite there I guess."
Weingartner won the second set in a tiebreaker and broke serve in the final
game to record her first victory over Capriati in two meetings.
"In the beginning, everythnig was a little bit new to me, because I have
never played on this court and it was a total different atmosphere," the
23-year-old said. "But I really like this atmosphere, and just needed a
little bit of time to get into it and get my rhythm. I just stayed in the
match and fought. That was the key."
The Australian Open is Weingartner's best Grand Slam. She reached the fourth
round here last year and the third round two years ago - the only times she
has passed the second round at a major.
"I worked very hard for the last couple of months and I think I deserved
it," Weingartner said. "I played really well and just went for it -
not think much, just hit the ball, and it comes. I played point by point and
just tried to put her under pressure a lot."
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