Serena, Jen, Venus in action Tuesday
Serena, Jen, Venus in action Tuesday
By Matt Cronin
Monday, May 31, 2004
Two years ago when a stressed out defending champion Jennifer Capriati walked
out on court to face Serena Williams at Roland Garros, Chris Evert noted,
"Jennifer has lost to Serena four times in a row and if she wants to be
considered the world's best player, she needs to find away to get the edge
over Serena again."
She flunked, losing Roland Garros’ best match - a heartbreaking 3-6 7-6(2) 6-2
stomach churner where Capriati was in control of her own fate deep in the
second set. Had she stopped Serena then, the younger Williams juggernaut may
never left the station and won her first title here.
On Tuesday, Capriati will get another shot at Serena in a Roland Garros
Quarter final and this time says she’s better prepared and believes she has
that edge.
"I prefer to play someone like Serena instead of playing a real clay courter,"
she said. “It’s harder and you have to work harder. If I can keep balls in
play, then I should have a little edge because maybe she’ll come up with
errors. She’s not used to playing on clay."
The 2002 Roland Garros quarter final was a defining match in the pair’s
rivalry, arguably the best one in women’s tennis. The year prior, Capriati
had owned Serena, beating her in back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon
quarter finals.
But after 2002 Roland Garros, it was all Serena as she ran off six straight
wins against Capriati (most of them three-setters), a streak which finally
ended in Rome a little more than two weeks ago when Capriati beat her 6-4 6-4
in the semi finals.
Serena credits her rival with playing well two weeks ago, but says she has
another level coming.
"Oh my god, for sure," Serena said. "If I didn't, I don't think I would need
to be here.... I'm hitting the ball better. I feel it in my zone. I'm ready."
Capriati, who hasn't won a Slam title in over three years, says she's playing
as well as she has since the 2003 US Open, when she dropped the ball in her
spectacular loss to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semis.
After dealing with a meddlesome back injury in the off-season, the Florida
veteran sputtered and wheezed until Rome, when she body slammed Serena for
the first time since 2001 and lost a cliffhanger to Amelie Mauresmo in the
final. She says she's in the mix of contenders.
"I always believe that," she said.
Capriati hasn’t had an easy match in her four victories here and has been
winning her contests mostly with sound, tireless defense. But against Serena,
she may have to crank up her offense. Two years ago here, it was Serena who
seized control in the second set tiebreaker when she went for her shots while
Capriati played passive.
Whether she’s capable of painting the lines when it gets tense on Tuesday is
a question the world is waiting for.
"I’m a different player now," Capriati said. "I feel more comfortable being
aggressive. I’m serving better, can retrieve and also be aggressive. But
I’m not going to change the way I’m playing. I’ll let her feel the pressure."
In her run to the 2002 title, Serena was a very consistent groundstroker, fast,
powerful and tougher mentally than the rest of the field. But she has only
won one title this year and doesn’t seem as sound of foot on dirt. But she’s
always willing to go to the mat against Capriati.
"It seems like we always go three sets," Serena said. "It's always intense.
The score line is close and can go either way. It's going to be an exciting
match and I'll make sure I'm up for it."
Venus Williams and Anastasia Myskina have only played twice, with the
American owning a 2-0 edge. They haven’t played in over two years, with
their last encounter coming on green clay at Amelia Island, where Venus
prevailed 6-4 7-6.
Both players are in better form now than they were then, with Myskina having
cracked the top five this year behind a hard-hitting, relentless ground game
and Venus having won her last 19 matches on clay. Myskina is hoping to break
through to a Grand Slam semi final for the first time in her career.
"I hope it’s going to be different this time," Myskina said.
Venus, who reached the final here two years ago and has won both the US Open
and Wimbledon twice, has put a lot of effort into preparing for a second week
assault on the Roland Garros crown.
"There’s only eight left so what are the odds?" she asked. I’m going to
have to play hard in the quarter final because it’s not a given."
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---禪心已作沾泥絮，莫向春風舞鷓鴣---
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