16 settembre 2004
US Open
During her 15 years on the women's professional tennis
circuit, Jennifer Capriati has suffered a lot of setbacks, both on and off
the court.
But the American has shown the ability to bounce back, and perhaps that,
above all else, will be her legacy whenever she decides she's had enough.
In the past 13 months, Capriati has lost excruciatingly close matches in the
semifinals of the U.S. Open, and it hasn't affected her outlook or her game.
The 28-year-old was beaten by Justin Henin-Hardenne a year ago and bowed to
Elena Dementieva last week in Flushing Meadow. Winding down earlier this
week at her home in Saddlebrook, Fla., Capriati was asked if those losses
rated as her biggest disappointments.
"I could look at that way, and everybody
else could look at it that way," Capriati said. "But I want to look
at it as something being very positive. First of all, not too many people
get to the semifinals. Then, the way I got to the semifinals and the way I
played, it's not something to be disappointed in. It's something to be proud
of. As an athlete and as a competitor, and because I work hard, you do get
disappointed because you want the outcome to be different. But if anything,
this should make me more determined and more angry or willing to come back
and get that one step further. Or two steps further [at the Open]."
Capriati reached the semifinals this year with a hard-fought, controversial
2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. The two
will meet again tomorrow in the Anthem Live Tennis Expo at the sold-out
Siegel Center.
Boosting Capriati's chances at the Open were several line calls that went
against Williams, including an obviously correct call that was overruled by
the chair umpire.
"That call, I really don't think it was enough to even call it a
controversy," Capriati said. "I don't think it impacted the match
enough to make it decisive [for] who was going to win. Everyone likes to
make a big deal out of nothing. She had every opportunity after that to beat
me, and she didn't. It came down to who was able to fight harder and maybe
be in a little better shape and more gutsy."
Capriati trails Williams 10-7 in their head-to-head matchups, but has
claimed three of their four meetings this year.
"It's a good rivalry to be a part of," she said. "We always seem to
have competitive matches. We play similar games. Attitude-wise, there's the
same kind of feistiness out there. You always want to prove something to
each other and everyone else... who's the better player."
Capriati turned pro at 13 and enjoyed quite a bit of early success before
running into problems with the law including an arrest for possession of
marijuana and burnout. She left the tour for several years but returned and
eventually earned the No. 1 ranking in the world (2001) after winning two
Australian Opens and one French Open.
"I've had many high moments in my career," she said. "Those stand out
because they were the real evidence for how far I've come to come back. I'm
very happy to have achieved those. Now, it could be another goal, because I
haven't won a Grand Slam in a while, so let's see if I can do that again."
Capriati says she's recovered from back and hamstring injuries that plagued
her earlier this year and wants to keep playing for the foreseeable future.
"I think I can definitely be in better shape," she said. "And
have more of the belief that I can still win, no matter how tough the
competition is or if I'm getting older. A lot of people would think I'd be
crazy to stop playing, especially when I haven't even been 100 percent this
year, and I've still come so close. Imagine if I was 100 percent, what I
could do. I still probably have a few more years. I'm right there. If I was
not even close, then I could say, 'Maybe I don't have it any more, and I'm
going to give it up.' But that's silly."
Capriati won't look back and wonder what might have been.
"You can't change the way things have gone," she said. "I have
no idea what might have happened. Maybe I wouldn't have won any [major
titles]. In the end, nobody is going to think about how many Grand Slams I
won. In the end, it comes down to what kind of person you are and how you
affected others... things you did to affect people in a deeper way. That,
to me, is more important."
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