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| Capriati cruises past Dechy |
June, 27th 2004
Wimbledon
Jennifer Capriati quietly cruised into the fourth round at
Wimbledon for the ninth time today with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over France's
Nathalie Dechy.
The encounter was played in a strangely subdued atmosphere on Court No.1 with only smattering
of spectators. And when seventh seed Capriati went to celebrate the win, a
bemused look came across her face as she searched for recipients of a wave
and a smile. Instead, she settled for a quick thumbs up to her support group
in the guest box, before picking up her rackets and leaving the court after
extending her unbeaten run against her French opponent to five games.
Capriati and Dechy might have expected a carnival atmosphere as they left
their locker rooms for the opening match on the third Middle Sunday at The
Championships. People remembered the previous years of 1991 and 1997 for
the size and reaction of the crowds let in on a first-come, first-served basis.
But while Roger Federer and Thomas Johansson experienced multiple Mexican
waves on Centre Court, the two ladies received polite applause. But Capriati
will not be bothered. She made the quarter-finals last year and, on her form
against Dechy, will be confident of at least emulating that run again.
The American looked to have it all in hand as she broke the 25th seed to
build a 3-0 lead in the opening set. But suddenly unforced errors crept into
her game and Dechy made a concerted and ultimately successful effort to pull level.
But Capriati, using her strong shoulders, began to unleash some fine returns and broke
Dechy again to seal the lead. The breakthrough relaxed Capriati as Dechy
tightened up and she swept through the second set to complete the triumph in 72 minutes.
Capriati said: "I think it was a good win. The first set was a little bit
tough, but I stuck in there. It was a little bit of a test. Then I just
really played well in the second set when I got going."
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