14 maggio 2004
ROMA - Telecom Italia Masters
For Jennifer Capriati, playing in Rome brings back happy memories.
"I just remember these night matches that I would play here," said the
former world No.1. "It was such a wild experience for me and for the crowd...
I always played Sabatini at night here, then I played with Martina once also,
and the crowd was going nuts.
I mean, of course you're only that age once."
Since stepping foot on the red European clay in recent weeks, Capriati has
begun to rekindle some of that early-career joy, seemingly finding her form
in time to contend for Roland Garros, which begins May 21.
At the Ladies German Open in Berlin last week, Capriati dismantled young German
hopeful Julia Schruff in her opening match before surviving a tough,
three-set challenge from powerful Russian teenager Maria Sharapova. In the
quarterfinals, Capriati avenged a crushing loss from earlier in the season
to world No.5 Anastasia Myskina by returning the favour in straight sets, 63
62. It was the first time this season she defeated a player in the Top 10.
Although she was routed 62 60 by world No.3 Amelie Mauresmo in the
semifinals, Capriati still managed to look at the week as a positive.
"She was in a zone," Capriati said. "You kind of know sometimes
you can't touch someone playing that good.
But I'm very happy with my tournament. I had some big wins. It got me
over the hump. I think I can peak for the French Open at the right time."
This week, Capriati has continued her good form, cruising through her first
two rounds against Maria Vento-Kabchi and Paola Suarez dropping a total of
seven games, and setting up a quarterfinal clash with Israel's Anna
Smashnova-Pistolesi, set for Friday. The two have played once, in New Haven
last summer, where Capriati triumphed in three sets.
"I think I'm getting there," she said. "I'm feeling more like
myself out there, you know, kind of the aggressive style that I play, and
really going for my shots and moving well."
Recently, Capriati has been working with Heinz Guenthardt, who coached
Steffi Graf through the latter half of her career. However, the new addition
to the team does not mean her father Stefano is going to have a smaller role
by any means.
"It doesn't mean my dad can't say anything," she said. "I've just
been with my dad for so long that I basically know what he would say without
him even being there. So it's just basically getting some different information maybe.
The goal is to have me playing the best tennis I can."
The recent positive results have come after a time when the WTA Tour is
recovering from a slow beginning to the season due to the injuries of
several top players. Capriati has been part of the unfortunate trend,
aggravating a degenerative back condition at the Tour Championships in
November of last year and not playing on the tour until the Dubai Duty Free
Women's Open at the end of February.
"The problem is never going to go away," she said. "I'm trying to
strengthen my back as best I can and do what I can with cortisone injections
and keeping it loose."
The three-time Grand Slam singles champion admits the injury could have ended her career.
"There was a scary thought that I would not get back onto the Tour,"
she said about returning to the Tour. "I thought I would never get back here again."
Rusty from not having played in almost three months, Capriati did not enjoy
much success in her first four tournaments back, including early exits in
Dubai, Miami and Charleston. She made the semifinals of Doha, but was
crushed in straight sets by Myskina.
"I enjoy the challenges and look at this as another challenge," she said.
The trip to the red clay of Berlin and Rome, and eventually Roland Garros,
could be just what Capriati needs to recapture the form that has taken her
to her greatest tennis and several clay court titles, including 2001 Roland Garros.
"It's more of just getting the kinks out in these kinds of tournaments,"
she said when asked about winning in Rome in reference to Roland Garros.
"You don't want to peak too early at these tournaments... of course they'd
be nice to win."
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