THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, NO. 44

USopen'03day5

On any given Saturday:
Capriati and Pierce look for one more Slam title

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE US OPEN – Mary Pierce and Jennifer Capriati have numerous things in common: advancing age; they were both coached by super-intense fathers; they both won Australia and Roland Garros crowns and were both brought up in Florida.

Capriati is 27, Pierce is 28 and they play on a tour that is being dominated by a 22-and-under crowd. Even without the Williams sisters in the US Open draw, neither are favored to take their first title in Flushing Meadows. No. 1 seed Kim Clijsters and No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne are.

But should Capriati or Pierce pound their way into the second week, experience and desire may matter more than vim and vigor.

Capriati looked absolutely lethal in crushing Martina Sucha 6-1, 6-1 Thursday night. Pierce was simply inspirational in upsetting mentally suspect 22nd-seed Jelena Dokic 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5).

Jennifer knows this is his best chance ever to win the US Open. She hasn't beaten either Clijsters or Henin-Hardenne this year, but she just broke a 28 tournament title-less streak last week in New Haven and is feeling spry once again. She certainly not feeling 27, an advanced age for a women's player.

"Where did the time go? " she said with a smile. "I don't feel 27. I certainly don't act it all the time. It's just a number."

LOIT VICTORY GIVES CAPRIATI SOME SPACE
A potential dangerous third round matchup against young Maria Sharapova went up in smoke when the Russian imploded against Emilie Loit, so Capriati's path is very clear. She would have had to face Venus in the quarters, but now she's likely looking at winnable matches against Elena Dementieva in the fourth round and probably Ai Sugiyama in the quarters.

Now wonder why she was light and lively after her win Thursday. She's says she's been hitting the ball as cleanly as she has in some time. "It's been a while," the three-time Grand Slam champion Capriati said. "I feel like a lot of my strength is there. I feel like I'm more accurate now hitting the ball. That probably has to do with my movement and how I'm feeling physically. I've really taken the time to just take care of my body, try to get in shape, but also try to just get looser and feel more agile."

Capriati was bothered by a a bum shoulder and pectoral muscle this summer, but says they will hold up through the tournament. As long as she doesn't put the weight of the world on her shoulders, she does have enough stick on her shots and the heart to play with Henin should she get there.

"I just try to do everything so perfect," she said. "You think everything is just going to go your way. Then when it doesn't, you wonder what's going on. You just can't expect so much from yourself. That's not how life works. You can't predict anything. Just got to live it moment by moment."

DOKIC'S THIRD-SET COLLAPSE
Capriati may be secretly hoping that Pierce stops Henin-Hardenne before she gets to the semis. It's unlikely, but don't tell that to the game Pierce. Her match against Dokic was at times ugly between the two attractive blondes, but toward the end of the second set, it was stomach churner all the way, with Dokic fighting off a match point and then swiping her way through the tiebreak.

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

Pierce looked tired and was mentally down. The hard-hitting Dokic and her young legs leapt out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and it appeared that Piece's year was about to go down the toilet. She thought a quick shower was in her immediate future.

"A cold shower, actually," she said. " I just tried to stay calm and told myself to fight. I just kept repeating that word to myself. I said, 'Just start going for your shots."

She took her two hundredth deep breath, kept composed and waited for the fragile young Yugoslav to get her a sniff. Dokic became erratic and unsure of herself, while Pierce rediscovered her crosscourt game, began to get more depth on her shots and served much better.

In the third-set tiebreak, she adeptly kept the ball in play as muchas possible, sensing that Dokic would eventually overhit and make a wild error. She won the contest and was as relived as any veteran has been on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a long time.

Pierce has suffered an NFL's team's list of injuries since she won the '00 French Open, but keeps pushing on. She said she won't be satisfied with just a top-20 career and has her eyes set on the top five, where she once stood proud.

"When I won the French Open, I felt like I was just starting to scratch the surface of coming into myself and being the best I can be," she said. "I haven't really done everything that in me to accomplish in tennis. I feel like I have more in me."

She could lose her next match to Shinobu Asagoe and may not have enough to get past seventh-seed Anastasia Myskina in the fourth round. But she has a wealth of experience and if she finds her legs again, she should win both those contests. Then it's likely a face off against mighty little Justine, who hasn't lost a match since the Wimbledon semis. Who knows what Pierce can pull off then?

"I know that the game is a lot stronger and the girls are a lot better and faster and hit harder," Pierce said. "But I know on my day, I can beat anyone."