ESPN.com - Wimbledon 2002 - Capriati stepped up her play
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Thursday, July 17
Capriati stepped up her play

WIMBLEDON, England -- As badly as the American men are doing is as well as the American women are playing.

Pam's Picks
Pam Shriver
Shriver
Former WTA Tour pro Pam Shriver is providing ESPN.com with in-depth analysis throughout Wimbledon. Shriver, a tennis analyst for ESPN, was ranked as high as No. 3 in singles play. She won 21 singles and 112 doubles titles, including 22 Grand Slams.

Everything went as expected on the women's side with the big upset being No. 5 Kim Clijsters going out. Although, Clijsters didn't play well at the French Open and her shoulder is still sore from an injury.

But other than that, you've got everyone else playing well.

Jennifer Capriati impressed me in her third-round victory against Daja Bedanova. Her performance made me more of a believer that she's playing well enough to win this. So she's right there with Venus and Serena Williams. Especially since they showed some vulnerability in their third-round matches. Serena struggled against Els Callens 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) on Friday, while Venus let Maureen Drake force her to three sets before winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. So Capriati, Serena and Venus are all about equal now. They are certainly all comfortable with the thought of winning majors.

Justine Henin is playing OK, not as well as last year, but if she lifts her level a little bit she might be able to reach the final again.

Monica Seles won in three sets Saturday 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, but don't expect to see her on grass toward the end.

The star of the week is Laura Granville, who came through the qualifying and beat Mary Pierce to get to the fourth round. She's a nice girl who went to Stanford and won the NCAA championships. She's having her best tournament as a pro. Lisa Raymond and Chanda Rubin are two other good grass-court players who have made it through.

With seven American women in the finals, there's an overabundance. But what's going on with the men is really unusual. People have wondered what the post-Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras-era would be like, and even though they are still playing, this is what it will look like unless someone like Andy Roddick steps it up. But it's a good partnership with the women and the men. The women's game was weaker before, while the men were stronger, so as long as one of them is doing well it carries some interest.

Venus Williams (1), U.S., vs. Lisa Raymond (16), U.S.
Venus has too many guns for Raymond.
Pick: Venus

Magdalena Maleeva (19), Bulgaria vs. Elena Likhovtseva, Russia
This is a bit of a pick-em match. Give a slight edge to Maleeva. Please, don't bet a lot on that.
Pick: Maleeva

Monica Seles (4), U.S., vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn (20), Thailand
This is kind of an interesting matchup. If I were to pick an an upset it would be Tanasugarn. But in a major, I cannot go against Seles.
Pick: Seles

Elena Dementieva (12), Russia, vs. Justine Henin (6), Belgium
On grass, Henin should win, but I'm waiting for Dementieva to have a good run again. So it wouldn't be surprising if Dementieva had an upset.
Pick: Henin

Laura Granville, U.S., vs. Amelie Mauresmo (9), France
Mauresmo has an edge in experience, but Granville is playing well and steady enough. Let's see Granville's run continue.
Pick: Granville

Eleni Danilidou, Greece, vs. Jennifer Capriati (3), U.S.
Danilidou is a heck of a player. This should be a fun match. They went three sets in Australia. Capriati will win, but we'll see some really good tennis.
Pick: Capriati

Jelena Dokic (7), Yugoslavia, vs. Daniela Hantuchova (11), Slovakia
This is another good matchup. It's going to be a very even match. On the basis of the strength of their serve, Hantuchova should win. Dokic has a weak second serve.
Pick: Hantuchova

Chanda Rubin, U.S., vs. Serena Williams (2), U.S.
Serena will win in a good match. But I love the fact that Rubin's had a successful comeback after an injury and surgery. She's one of my favorite players. She's playing the best tennis of her career. She's an old doubles partner, so I'm parital to her.
Pick: Serena

It's a fun round of 16, most of the seeds are still in. The Williams sisters won a doubles match Saturday and Navratilova lost, so keep an eye on the doubles, too, when play resumes on Monday.

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