THE SCOOP: FRIDAY, AUGUST 3

Jennifer takes aim at Martina; Martina dishes Alexandra

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, CA. – Jennifer Capriati is now about 1,100 points behind Martina Hingis in the rankings but it's the shakiest four-digit lead Martina has had in months.

The Swiss has five titles to defend between now and the end of the year, while Capriati has very little to defend, save for a couple semis and a small final.

It's unlikely that Jennifer will catch Martina before the blue gates slam shut on the U.S. Open, but she does have the Swiss firmly in her sights. "Before I started the year I was far away from No. 2 so anything can happen,"
said Capriati. "I'm just taking it match by match, tournament by tournament. Anything's possible. I fell like I'm really moving forward."

Hingis, who could face Capriati in the final here, said that she's not just going to walk away without putting up a fight. Although it is tennisreporters.net's opinion that she should concentrate more on the Slams than in her week-in, week-out play, Hingis said that No. 1 and the Slams are equally important to her.

"You always go out there and try win at the Slams and anywhere else," Hingis said. "Being No. 1 as along as possible is definitely important. Right now I don't have to worry much about the ranking but I have a lot to defend in the fall. I'm just looking forward to playing her. She very dangerous, very good and I always have a lot of respect for her. … A lot of good players want to be No. 1. It's who's hungrier and wants it more. I just hope not to be exhausted before I get to the Open."

MARTINA COMMENTS BOTHER ALEXANDRA
Hingis crushed San Diego's Alexandra Stevenson 6-1 6-3 today and was rarely bothered by her taller foe's big service bombs or rolling forehands. The Swiss brain then disected 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Alexandra's game.

"Her strength is her serve, but it's not like you can't read her game, most of the time she hits the same shots, Hingis said. "If she would use her body more, she could hit the balls but there's not much control. She hits very heavy but not very deep. Serena and Lindsay hit very deep and long. Alexandra's shots aren't as effective as some other players."

Alexandra's reaction, "What is she, a coach now?"

Before the match, Alexandra promised the contest would be like "Thursday Night at the Fights." In describing Alexandra's loss to Hingis, The Desert Sun's Lleyton Ginn hilariously compared her defeat to a list of Mike Tyson's first round KO victims: Buster Mathis, Peter McNeeley, Marvis Frazier, Frank Bruno and Alex Stewart. As Ginn wrote, like in the case of Joe and Marvis Frazier, it may the case that Alexandra's dad, former hoops star Julius Erving, held back on passing along some of his champion's genes.

IS JELENA WITHERING?
After Capriati looked like Marion Jones and ran past number 15 seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia 6-4 6-2, tennisreporters.net checked in with the 18-year-old Jelena,
whose progress appears to have stopped in its tracks.

"That's the best she's played all year," Dokic told us. "She's serving so
well and really striking the ball cleanly."

Jelena has really hits the skids since winning the Italian Open over Amelie Mauresmo in May. She had a tremendous chance at Roland Garros when the Seeds fell out of the bottom half of draw, but then she gagged against Petra
Mandula. The statuesque, crackling baseliner then couldn't get over on Davenport in the fourth round of Wimbledon, even though Davenport had just come back on tour.
The tall blonde came here to San Diego for the first time this week and looks a little out of synch. While Dokic didn't play terribly against Capriati, her movement left something to be desired and she was horrific at net. If Jelena doesn't learn to hit a decent volley to close out points (she often backs up even when she has an opponent on the dead run) she'll never be a truly elite player.

"This is my first full year on tour so I figured I get some more matches in Europe," Dokic said. "I just wanted the match play. Winning is important, but working on my game is important too."

Jelena traces her slump back to the loss to Mandula. "It was a big occasion, the draw had opened for me and the nerves kicked in," she said. "I won Rome and like with Mauresmo at Roland Garros, the pressure got to me. Winning that match would have made a big difference. I have to learn from that and with more experience I think I'll be better the next time around. My problems are mental and I'm working hard to correct them."