The Hindu : Martinez, Capriati in semifinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 20, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Martinez, Capriati in semifinals

EASTBOURNE JUNE 19. Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez and Jennifer Capriati entered the semifinals of the grass court Eastbourne tournament on Thursday.

Martinez was the first player through, defeating fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-3. Third-seeded Jennifer Capriati joined Martinez in the semifinals, overcoming a second set slump with a 6-1, 7-5 win over unseeded Nathalie Dechy of France.

``It's not easy to play here with the wind, but I'm feeling pretty good,'' Martinez said. ``I tried to put a lot of balls in and play with my slice and make her play. I think I played really well.''

On Friday, she took the opening set 6-1, and then dropped the first nine points of the second set as Dechy built a 4-1 lead.

Capriati then levelled at 4-4, before breaking to lead 6-5 with a stunning backhand pass down the line. Although she had to fight off two break points as she served out the match, a netted backhand from Dechy ended the contest.

On Thursday, Capriati swept the first set against Amy Frazier, and then fell behind 0-5 in the second.

``Maybe it's the first set is too easy, and maybe I lose my concentration a little bit or I'm not as tough,'' Capriati said.

``But it's good that I broke her momentum a little bit earlier (than against Frazier), but I had to really concentrate and fight really hard to make it even again.''

Windy conditions made good tennis difficult, but Capriati was able to take some positives as she heads into Wimbledon.

``I'm getting a lot of good match practice, and this will make me mentally tough for sure, to be able to get through matches in these conditions'', she said.

``They're making me work, but the matches are not incredibly long so I'm hopefully not going to get fatigued for Wimbledon.''

The unseeded Martinez was rarely troubled by Hantuchova, who often overhit the ball and struggled with the Spaniard's sliced backhand. Hantuchova held a break point in the third game, but didn't earn another until the final game of the match.

``She knows the game so well, and every time I play her she makes life very awkward for me on the court,'' Hantuchova said. ``I thought I had a better chance on grass because it's faster and it suits me, but it didn't work today and part of the reason definitely was the wind.''

The results (quarterfinals): Conchita Martinez bt Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-3; Jennifer Capriati bt Nathalie Dechy 6-1, 7-5; Chanda Rubin bt Anna Pistolesi 6-1, 6-0; Silvia Farina Elia bt Magdalena Maleeva 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Wednesday's results: Conchita Martinez bt Amanda Coetzer 7-5, 6-3; Jennifer Capriati bt Amy Frazier 6-1, 7-5; Anna Pistolesi bt Maori Obata 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5); Silvia Farina Elia bt Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3); Magdalena Maleeva bt Elena Likhovtseva 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

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