August, 30th 2003
US Open
In her first daytime match of the tournament, No. 6 Jennifer Capriati overcame
a frustrating second set to beat Emilie Loit of France, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
After handily winning the first set, it looked like 27-year-old Capriati
would finish another match without dropping a set. Loit seemed to be already
walking off the court before she ended the first game of the second set with
a slack return of Capriati's serve. Capriati then had a double break point
in the second game, giving the raucous crowd reason to believe she'd
continue her lickity-split run onto the fourth round.
But left-handed Loit's deft, slicing backhand helped her hold serve, and in
the fifth game she mixed in a soft drop shot and a nice overhead down the
line to break Capriati's serve without allowing the American a single point.
When Capriati served again at 2-4, she missed five serves in a row, setting
up another break for 24-year-old Loit, who held easily in the next game to
win the second set.
Capriati had good luck in her first two matches with flashy, bright-colored
outfits. Perhaps sensing some bad vibes in today's conservative, all-white
number, she changed to a louder turquoise shirt and cruised to a 3-1 lead in
the third set. When Loit scored a break point in the fifth game with a
dropper that hit the tape, Capriati responded with an ace to the roar of the
grateful fans.
In the next game, at ease on the court and moving well, Capriati hit a
beautiful lob over the frustrated Frenchwoman to get up 5-1.
But Loit used her backhand out wide to push Capriati to the edge of the
court, then delivered a cross-court winner to break the American's serve in
the next game. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold her own, and Capriati put
down smooth, easy volleys - she won 75 percent of her net shots - to get a
triple match point. Loit saved two, but then hit a ball long.
This is Loit's second loss to Capriati, who beat her in 2001 in the first round of Roland Garros.
Capriati, who has never reached the finals of the US Open in 11 tries, will
meet No. 11 Elena Dementieva from Russia in the next round.
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