ESPN.com - Wimbledon 2001 - Serena sets up Capriati showdown
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Thursday, July 17
Serena sets up Capriati showdown

WIMBLEDON, England -- Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams set up another Grand Slam quarterfinal showdown with straight-set victories Monday at Wimbledon.

Capriati beat Sandrine Testud 6-1, 6-2, while Williams topped Magdalena Maleeva 6-2, 6-1.

They'll play Tuesday for the first time since the French Open quarterfinals last month, when Capriati won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

"The last time, I didn't play. I think it was someone impostering me, hitting errors and going crazy," Williams said.

Capriati, who had lapses in her first three matches here, finally looked more like she did in winning the Australian and French Opens this year.

"I don't think there's much to be unhappy about today," she said. "I think I did everything well. So far this is the best I've played in the tournament."

The other quarterfinal matchups also were determined Monday: defending champion Venus Williams vs. Nathalie Tauziat; 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport vs. French Open runner-up Kim Clijsters; and French Open semifinalist Justine Henin vs. Conchita Martinez.

All won Monday in straight sets except for the eighth-seeded Henin, who beat 18th-seeded Anke Huber 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Henin and Martinez are the only quarterfinalists among the women who have lost a set through the first four rounds.

Davenport, still off her top form in just her second tournament since being sidelined three months with a knee injury, trailed 4-2 in the first set but beat Jelena Dokic 7-5, 6-4.

"Sometimes you even get more confidence if you beat a Williams along the way or a player of that stature," Davenport said.

Venus Williams beat unseeded Nadia Petrova, 6-2, 6-0 and has lost just 16 games in eight sets. Her younger sister, Serena, has dropped only 11 games with her longest match going 54 minutes.

Capriati won her past two meetings with Serena -- on a hard court in Miami in March and on clay at the French Open, both in the quarterfinals.

"I do think the (Wimbledon) grass favors Serena" over Capriati, Davenport said. "I think Jennifer's going to have to play really well. But a lot of times if you have that winning edge over someone, that helps a lot."

A year ago at Wimbledon, Serena lost in the semifinals to Venus, who then beat Davenport for the title. This year, Venus is seeded second, Davenport third and Capriati fourth. Top-seeded Martina Hingis lost her opening match.

Serena said her short matches require more preparation in practice so "when I do play a harder player, like I did against Venus in the semis, or maybe Capriati, then I'll be ready."

Under a typically cloudy London sky, Serena was the first to advance Monday to the quarterfinals, when all 16 women and 16 men still in contention were scheduled to play.

And she gave her father, Richard, plenty to brag about.

Seated in the third row, he held a wireless microphone and commented in hushed tones on his daughter's match while an associate held a video camera. During breaks in play, he stood up with the court as a backdrop for standup shots for the camera.

Serena's shots were more impressive.

She broke the 12th-seeded Maleeva's service in the first set, but her father, seated near enough for her to hear, said, "Turn it up."

She did that and had the Bulgarian sprinting along the baseline to run down powerful shots to the left side, then the right, then back to the left.

Late in the first set, Serena started connecting with her serve and finished the 23-minute set with an ace.

The second set started just like the first as Maleeva lost her service. The only one she held was in the third game, but then Williams won the last four games.

Maleeva, who has two sisters who played pro tennis, was out-aced by Williams 11-2. Williams has 38 aces through four rounds, compared to three for her opponents.

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