MELBOURNE, Australia -- Jennifer Capriati's latest victory made
her feel like a kid again.
|  | | Jennifer Capriati showed more fitness and mobility than she has in years, and the reward was a spot in the semifinals. |
With a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory Tuesday over Monica Seles at the
Australian Open, Capriati became a Grand Slam semifinalist for only
the second time since 1991, when she was 15.
"It's one of the best matches I've played," said Capriati, now
24. "It kind of reminded me of the old days."
She lost a dramatic first set and fell behind in the second,
then rallied as Seles tired.
"My adrenaline is pumping so hard right now I feel like I
could run a marathon," Capriati said.
Seles, seeded fourth, fell to 37-2 at the Australian Open. She
won the title in 1991-93 and 1996, and her only other defeat was to
Martina Hingis in the 1999 semifinals.
"Today it's just the case that she was better, and she
played better in the key points," Seles said.
"The way I played this tournament compared to the other ones
was really not up to par," Seles said.
Capriati reached the Australian Open semifinals last year before
losing to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport, who she now plays in the semifinals. Davenport was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 8 Anna Kournikova.
"I think I'll be watching that match," the 12th-seeded Capriati said beforehand.
The quarterfinals will be completed Wednesday. The top-seeded
Hingis will play No. 6 Serena Williams, and No. 3 Venus Williams
will take on No. 10 Amanda Coetzer.
Capriati, who has endured many wrenching postmatch news
conferences at Grand Slam tournaments, this time was beaming. Even
the potentially touchy subject of her recent weight loss couldn't
stop her from smiling, and she confirmed that her conditioning is
much improved.
"It's a lot of hard work that has paid off," she said. "I'm
just thrilled."
Capriati left the women's tour for several years in the
mid-1990s because of drug and personal problems. Her father,
Stefano, began coaching her last year, and she said her improved
results are a reflection of her contentment off the court.
"The tennis sort of follows that," she said. "I'm just happy
playing tennis and feel free and relaxed with it."
Capriati had lost all five previous Grand Slam meetings against
Seles. The rivalry dates to the 1990 French Open, when Capriati was
14.
"Now I'm older and a lot stronger and physically fit, so maybe
I can get back those hard balls she hits better now," Capriati
said.
She kept Seles on the move with deep groundstrokes to both
corners, and in the second set the tactic began to take a toll.
Seles tired despite the mild weather, and after she took a 4-2 lead
in the second set, Capriati won eight consecutive games.
Seles finally closed out the first set after Capriati had saved
seven set points, all in the tense final game. It lasted 22 points,
went to deuce eight times and included two rallies of more than 20
shots.
Seles appeared on the verge of victory in the second set when
Capriati double-faulted to fall behind 4-2, threw her racket in
anger and drew a warning from the chair umpire.
"At that point I didn't feel like I was the one who should
be losing because I felt great out there," Capriati said of her
mid-match turnaround.
"I just wanted to cut down on my errors and execute my shots
better, and that's what I did," Capriati said.
She broke right back, evened the set at 4-4 with her third ace
and then began to dominate the baseline rallies. When she closed
out the 1-hour, 55-minute victory, she grinned, blew kisses to the
center-court crowd and said "I love you" to a television camera -- a
message for her mother and brother back home in Florida.
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