06 settembre 1999
Us Open
FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The U.S. Open proved to be an
emotional rollercoaster for Jennifer Capriati, with the high of a career
resurgence that carried her into the fourth round and the low of repeatedly
having to discuss a period of her life that she wishes to forget.
Capriati's U.S. Open run ended today with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Monica Seles in
a rematch of their 1991 semifinal meeting that is regarded as a classic in
women's tennis.
She opened her post-match news conference by reading a letter she composed
in which she expressed regrets about some of her past actions and sorrow for
any pain she might have caused. In effect, the letter was a plea to the
media to cease the constant questioning about her past.
"I made mistakes and yes, I am to blame and no one else," she read.
"I am sorry to my loved ones that I humiliated and embarrassed. And I'm
sorry to my fans who I feel I let down. I'm sorry to myself for causing such pain.
"But I've put a great deal behind me, moving forward in the right direction,
the direction I feel is right. I feel like I've started a new chapter in my
life and I need to leave the past behind. So this will be the final time
that I speak about the past. I just ask that after today, you please respect my wishes."
But about 20 minutes later, Capriati, after patiently answering questions
about her past and the loss to Seles, broke into uncontrollable sobbing
after being asked if she still saw the media as her adversary. She put her
head down on the table, then into her hands as she was unable to continue
answering questions.
When asked if she wished to end the conference, Capriati shook her head and
said, "it needs to be done", but left after saying "I just wish I
didn't have to talk about this stuff all the time."
For the first time in a long time, Capriati has made observers pay attention
to her tennis. Her victory at the Strasbourg International claycourt
tournament in May was her first since 1993.
Earlier, Capriati said she had been contemplating issuing the statement for
quite a while and felt the time was right.
"I was just tired of all the questions about my past, just all the
mystery," Capriati said. "Just once and for all, I wanted to get it
over with. I'm tired of like every time I read something about myself, I
always read that little tidbit about the past. I just hope by doing this, it
will sort of just end that chapter and I can start a new life."
Capriati said she
composed her statement about a week before the Open and was waiting for the
proper time to read it.
"When I felt the time was right, when it was appropriate," she said.
"I wasn't sure after each match if I should have because I was like, 'Oh,
I don't want to like jinx anything.' I just waited until at least I wasn't
playing any more. I was going to do it maybe before the tournament started
so it would set the ground rules for the rest of the tournament, but I didn't
do that.
"It really did come from me. I'd been wanting to do it for a long time. It's
just been nagging at me. I thought now would be the best time in that I've
just been consistent with the way I've been doing in my tennis. It was just
now that I felt, like, ready."
Capriati said she has no plans to talk about the drug allegations and the 'mysteries'
she described in her statement.
"Right now, I don't think that's appropriate to talk about," she said.
"I mean, that's something I will talk about, maybe to another group of
people, someone who is just like going to relate to, who is really going to
listen and take it directly to the heart. I mean, you're just going to kind
of write it down on a paper for people to read. That's not something that I
want. You know, I want them to hear it from my own words."
After some self-doubt earlier this year, Capriati said she is pleased with
the way her tennis has gone, giving some of the credit to coach Harold Solomon.
"I've done better than I thought I would, really," she said. "I
didn't know really what to expect, what kind of tennis I was going to play,
what improvements I was going to make. I was just really thinking positive.
"With Harold coming into the picture, I was just thinking positive, that I
was just going to do a lot better. It started in practice. I was just doing
better. It went into the tournaments. I really didn't expect to win a
tournament -- I didn't think it would come so soon. I think it would take a
little while longer. I was just very happy about it."
Capriati said she felt she needs to make mental adjustments if she is to
compete successfully against the top players.
"Mentally, I need to be at another level," she said. "I've got to
get used to playing those kind of matches. I felt I got a little nervous
there a few times in the match and just didn't really know how to handle the
big points. When I play against the top players, they're not going to give
me any free points. I've got to learn to be as tough as them."
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