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Capriati counts on a historic repeat
If experience holds the key to success in grand slam tournaments, Jennifer Capriati will win her second French Open on Saturday.
If experience holds the key to success in grand slam tournaments, Jennifer Capriati will win her second French Open on Saturday.
The 2001 champion, helped by the poor form of the four players who have eclipsed her in recent years and boosted by a new physical training programme, is the one survivor of the pre-tournament favourites.
Apart from the American, Russian Elena Dementieva is the only other semi-finalist to have reached the last four in a grand slam.
Capriati, who meets another Russian in Anastasia Myskina next, seems to have done the hardest part of the job by beating compatriot Serena Williams in the quarters.
The last time she managed that in a grand slam was at the 2001 French Open.
"I don't want to say anything, but history repeats itself sometimes," she said.
The seventh seed's grand slam credentials speak for themselves. With three major titles -- two Australian Opens in 2002 and 2001 on top of her 2001 Paris crown -- she is by far the most prestigious player in the last four.
Her Roland Garros experience is also special.
Thursday's match against Myskina will be her fourth semi-final in Paris, the first coming in 1990 when Myskina and Dementieva had barely started playing tennis.
CAREER HIGHS
With 14 career victories, Capriati has won the same number of tournaments as the other three semi-finalists put together.
She may never get a better chance of adding a fourth grand slam to her name.
"The tournament is not over. I have two more matches to play, especially the next one," she said.
But that match looks easy to call.
Capriati leads Myskina 5-1 in their previous encounters and crushed the Russian number one 6-3 6-2 in Berlin last month.
Roland Garros has never been Myskina's favourite place, having only won one match on Parisian clay before this year.
"I do believe that I can beat Jennifer. I do believe that I can play better than even today," the Russian insisted after her first victory over Venus Williams in the quarter-finals.
Whatever the outcome of the second semi-final, the winner will attain a career high.
Ninth seed Dementieva, like Myskina, will be trying to become only the second Russian woman to play a grand slam final after Olga Morozova at Wimbledon in 1974.
As for Paola Suarez, seeded 14th, she will be hoping to emulate Gabriela Sabatini, the last Argentine woman to have played a grand slam final, at Wimbledon in 1991.
