ESPN.com - TENNIS - It should be a good year of competition for women

 
Monday, February 12
It should be a good year of competition for women



MELBOURNE, Australia -- Jennifer Capriati's astounding Grand Slam breakthrough and a stunning stumble by Venus Williams at the Australian Open left the balance of power scrambled atop women's tennis.

Seldom, if ever, has the WTA Tour enjoyed such a depth of championship talent. Five players have won the past six Grand Slam titles, and that group doesn't include top-ranked Martina Hingis.

The jumble will make tournaments delightfully difficult to predict.

"It's going to be a great year," Capriati said.

She was speaking for herself, but fans are in for a treat, too, especially if Capriati can sustain the brilliant play in Melbourne that resulted in her first major title. She beat Hingis 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's final.

The victory will vault Capriati to seventh in next week's rankings. It's the first time she has been in the top 10 since early 1994, when she had abandoned the tour at age 17 because of drug and personal problems.

Now she's a happy, mature, confident 24-year-old who seems determined to make up for lost time.

"From here on, I will always have the belief in myself that I can do anything," she said. "I will never be afraid in any match."

Her upset victory came only 48 hours after another shocker -- Williams' 6-1, 6-1 loss to Hingis. Just when it appeared the Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Olympic champion was ready to dominate women's tennis, she instead endured the most lopsided loss of her career.

"Not everyone can win every time," Williams said. "It's early in the year. A lot of players have a tough time early in the year."

Serena Williams played better than her sister in the early rounds before losing to Hingis in the quarterfinals.

For Hingis the victories were doubly significant because she beat both sisters in the same tournament for the first time. In response to their overpowering strokes, she has gotten stronger herself and improved her serve.

It's two years and counting since Hingis' fifth and most recent Grand Slam title, but she remains the most consistent player on the tour and a threat to win any event.

"I proved that I can beat anybody out there," Hingis said. "I can still smile. I have more opportunities to come."

But there will be more obstacles than ever with the inclusion of Capriati, who is capable of winning on every Grand Slam surface. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open by age 15.

And then there was the gold medal Capriati won on clay at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She wasn't sure how to compare that achievement with winning the Australian Open.

"I was thinking about that," she said. "It's just too far apart. That actually seems like another life. This is a new life, a different life. It's actually winning something for the first time again."

Capriati's first Grand Slam title was no fluke. In the final three rounds her opponents -- winners of a combined eight Australian Open titles -- were seeded fourth (Monica Seles), second (Lindsay Davenport) and first (Hingis).

One player not surprised by Capriati's breakthrough was Hingis.

"She's a great player," Hingis said. "I've always said that. When she's on a roll, she's really tough.

"She's one of the players I have a lot of respect for because of her knowledge of the game. Maybe it's a different story off the court, but on the court, she always belongs to the top five."

The top five next week will be Hingis, Davenport, Venus Williams, Seles and Serena Williams. But after Capriati and French Open champion Mary Pierce there's a steep dropoff.

As at most tournaments, mismatches dominated the early rounds in the Australian Open. When it comes to overall balance, the WTA Tour still can't compete with the men.

The future is bright for youngsters Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva, who won at least two matches apiece in Melbourne and left town ranked in the top 20. But as Capriati has shown, it can take a long time for a talented teen-ager to mature into a champion.

 




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