Capriati is queen of Paris

PARIS, JUNE 9. Jennifer Capriati of the United States made it two Grand Slam triumphs in a row here today when she outlasted Belgian teenager Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 in a cliffhanger to win the French Open women's singles title.

It was the closest of calls for the 25-year-old hot favourite as she struggled with her nerves and her game throughout as Clijsters, who turned 18 yesterday, belied her years to put up a brave fight that brought her to within two points of the title.

Capriati clinched the championship after a 2hr 21min marathon when she broke Clijsters in the 21st game of the set and in the next game grabbed the title with a forehand blast on her second match point.

It was her third attempt to serve out the match after she failed at 7-6 and at 10-9.

Capriati hugged Clijsters and then went over for more embraces from her watching father and brother. ``I am so thrilled, so happy. I just stuck in there and stayed tough. I tried to play every ball and just stay in there. I don't know how I did it. I just can't believe it. I am on a roll,'' she said.

The opening exchanges were nervy, Capriati getting things underway with a double fault followed by four unforced errors from Clijsters.

The Belgian saved four break points in a crucial second game which seemed to settle her and unhinge the more experienced of the two finalists.

Capriati looked tense and anxious, arguing with the umpire and the net cord judge as she dropped her next serve to 15, Clijsters ramming a big forehand down the line.

The Belgian, seeing that Capriati was flustered, grabbed her chance to reel off four games in a row, clinching the set in 29 minutes on her third set point when the American hit a forehand wide.

Capriati started to get her game together at the start of the second and broke for a 2-0 lead, but she was pinned back again by Clijsters who levelled at 2-2.

But the American again bounced back to break in the fifth game, Clijsters driving a forehand long and then held on to serve for the set 6-4, with Clijsters hitting two forehands wide as her confidence began to crumble.

The match was on a knife-edge and Capriati broke first in the deciding set concluding with two smashes at the net. But the febrility of her play let her down again in the following game with three more unforced errors to allow Clijsters to level.

Thereafter it was a survival of the fittest both physically and mentally as the games went with serve and both players came within two points of the match.

Capriati served for the match at 7-6, but allowed nerves to get the better of her again as Clijsters broke back. Again she served at 10-9 only to fail again. But at 11-10 she moved to two match points, missed the first, but on the second blasted a majestic forehand past a lunging Clijsters for the title.

Capriati was the first American to win here since Chris Evert in 1986.

Bhupathi loses in mixed doubles

Mahesh Bhupathi's dream of making to a second final came to an end tonight, when he and Russian Elena Likhovtseva lost in the semifinals of the mixed doubles. The Indo-Russian pair lost to Paola Suarez of Argentina and Jaime Oncins of Brazil 5-7, 6-4, 2- 6. The Latin American combine had earlier ousted India's Leander Paes and American Lisa Raymond in the pre-quarterfinals. Bhupathi won the French Open mixed doubles title in 1997 with Rika Hiraki of Japan.

* The results:

Women's singles (final): 4-Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) bt 12-Kim Clijsters (Bel) 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.

Men's singles (semifinal): Alex Corretja (Esp) bt Sebastien Grosjean 7-6 (7 & 2) 6-4, 6-4.

Women's doubles (semifinals): 2-Virgina Ruano-Pascual (Esp) & Paolo Suarez (Arg) bt Justine Henin (Bel) & Elena Tatarkova (Ukr) 6-2, 6-0.

Mixed doubles (semifinals): Paola Suarez (Arg) & Jaime Oncins (Bra) bt Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

- AFP

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Anjali finishes joint 19th
Next     : Kuerten vs Corretja