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| February 20, 2003 | Thursday | Zul Hijjah 18, 1423 |
Capriati regains spark in Dubai
DUBAI, Feb 19: A rejuvenated Jennifer Capriati brushed aside Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova to win her first match of the year and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open on Wednesday.
The American took just 61 minutes to win 6-2 6-1, but top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne was stretched to the limit by German qualifier Anca Barna before edging through 1-6 6-2 6-4.
Sixth seed Patty Schnyder retired with a back strain after dropping the first set 6-1 to Lina Krasnoroutskaya, and eighth seed Eleni Daniilidou was beaten 6-4 6-7 6-2 by Spanish veteran Conchita Martinez.
Capriati, who in November underwent eye surgery to remove sunspots, made a fruitless trip to Australia last month, the defending Australian Open champion suffering a shock first round defeat.
She blamed a lack of preparation then, but she managed to take the break she has missed out on at the end of last season and now the hunger is back.
“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I lost early in Australia. I went on vacation after that for a week, just to have time and relax and to get my mind clear,” said the third seed.
“Then I came back and had a lot of motivation to work out and try to get back into the shape.”
Capriati was relieved to get a win under her belt, especially in such a comprehensive manner.
“It’s really nice to get a win. It feels really good,” she said. “I was just happy to get through. It’s a good confidence booster. No matter what the score or whether I won or lost, I can feel my strokes are good out there.”
Henin-Hardenne struggled to shake off a determined challenge from German left-hander Barna, who had the benefit of having already played four matches in Dubai.
She was the more consistent player in the first set, and went up a break in the third before Henin-Hardenne rallied and closed out the match by winning the last eight points.
“When I lost the first set I just tried to stay focussed and thought what I had to do,” said Henin-Hardenne.
“That was to be aggressive and not let her play the way she likes to play, which is to run and play a lot of rallies. I had to wake up and I did. I played a bad game when she broke me in the third set, but in the last game I made some good returns and did what I had to do.”
Results (x denotes seeding):
Second round: Amelie Mauresmo (Fra x2) bt Petra Mandula (Hun) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5); Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzb) bt Magdalena Maleeva (Bul x7) 7-6 (7/2), 7-5; Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel x1) bt Anca Barna (Ger) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4; Lina Krasnoroutskaya (Rus) bt Patty Schnyder (Swi x6) 6-1, retd; Jennifer Capriati (USA x3) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-2, 6-2; Conchita Martinez (Spa) bt Eleni Daniilidou (Gre x8) 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-2.—Reuters/AFP
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