30 marzo 2006
Jennifer Capriati, who turned 30 on Thursday,
acknowledged her career could be over. She said it breaks her heart to watch
tennis matches since she was forced to stop playing due to four surgeries --
two to her right shoulder and two to her right wrist.
Capriati was at the NASDAQ-100 Open Friday, watching from a television booth
as top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo lost 6-1, 6-4 to her doubles partner, Svetlana
Kuznetsova.
"I'm not playing at all right now, I can't, the rehab is not going as I'd like,
and this is harder than anything else I've been through because it's not in
my hands," she told a few reporters who stopped her in the hallway.
"It would be unfortunate if I go out this way. But if I do, I'll have to just
look back at my career as one big accomplishment. I'm not retired yet,
though. This is just another test, another avenue to go down."
Capriati has been absent from the tour since November 2004. Her last surgery
was June 2005, and she said she has no idea when -- or if -- she'll make a
comeback.
"At first, I thought, 'OK, I'll take a little break and come back
rejuvenated, but this has been a little too long,'" Capriati said.
"I guess the answer will just come. For now, I have to use positive thinking and try
to still believe I can come back some day."
Capriati made her tour debut in 1990 at age 13 and immediately became the
youngest player ever to make a final. She went on to win two Australian
Opens (2001 and 2002), the 2001 French Open, and $10 million in prize money.
In 2004, she reached the semis at the French Open and U.S. Open before the
injuries halted her career.
She is known for one of the greatest comebacks in the sport. Capriati
struggled through personal and legal troubles in 1994 and 1995, and fell out
of the rankings. She came back after a 15-month layoff and finished 1996
ranked No. 24. By 2001, she had rejuvenated her career and was up to No. 2.
She remained in the Top 10 through 2004.
"Look at Lance Armstrong, and Andre [Agassi], they made comebacks," she said.
"I'm still young and I won't give up."
|
.gif){kind=small}