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 Tuesday, January 25
Capriati, Davenport advance, Pierce falls
 
Associated Press

 Results

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Jennifer Capriati, cracking winners with the power and control of her golden teen years, surged to her first Grand Slam quarterfinals since 1993 on Sunday in the Australian Open.

Capriati won 20 of the last 22 points in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Patty Schnyder, who knocked off last year's runner-up, Amelie Mauresmo, in the second round.

Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport waves to the crowd after her center-court victory.

If Capriati gets past Ai Sugiyama, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over 1995 champion and No. 4 seed Mary Pierce, looming as a likely semifinal foe is No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, who beat Anna Kournikova 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarters.

Davenport's quarterfinal opponent will be No. 9 Julie Halard-Decugis, who advanced when Jana Kandarr pulled out because of a strained hamstring in her left leg.

After starting the tournament ranked No. 21, the 23-year-old Capriati is guaranteed at least a No. 17 ranking.

Capriati, who finished 1998 ranked No. 101, had been as high as No. 6 in 1991 and 1992, when she won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. She dropped off the tour for several years, amid much-publicized problems, after three quarterfinal finishes in major tournaments and a first-round loss in the U.S. Open in 1993.

"I finally got past that fourth-round mark that has been stopping me," said Capriati, who lost in that round in the French and U.S. Opens last year. "I feel confident. I'm a lot stronger physically (than in 1993), I'm in better shape, and I have more variety.

"Today I was really put to a test. It's not easy to play somebody like that. I think that's the best I've played so far."

If she isn't fully back to where she was in her good old days, Capriati is close. She's serving consistently at close to 110 mph, ripping returns cleanly, and pounding groundstrokes close to the lines with confidence.

Against the No. 29-ranked Schnyder, Capriati simply wore her down in the third set. Serving at 1-1, Capriati fought off two break-points to start a run of 12 straight points, including a break of Schnyder's serve at love.

Capriati then yielded a couple of points while breaking Schnyder again, and closed out the match at love with an overhead, a brutally hard forehand winner and two errors by Schnyder.

"She just rolled over the top of me," Schnyder said. "She was hitting the ball so hard and deep and making me run. At the end she was just hitting winners everywhere.

"She's been a great player. She can beat anybody."
 


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