Rafter sets up intriguing clash with Agassi

By Nirmal Shekar

MELBOURNE, JAN. 23. There is a world-weariness about them that is unmistakable, something that sets them apart in their line of work and turns them into a pair of outsiders.

Like sea-weary sailors who have visited every port except the one they set out in search of, Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles have gone around the world on the non-stop tennis Tour seeking something that does not exist - their own uncorrupted youth and the marvels that it made possible.

How thrilled both of them would be if the object of their search was something that could be reported in `Lost and Found,' hoping that it would be restored to them in time!

But, alas, in sport, particularly in this rather cruel sport called tennis, what's lost is often lost forever. There are two Seleses - pre-1993 and post 1993. And so it is with Capriati. The pre-1993 version is lost forever. The one that we saw at the Australian Open on Tuesday, fighting back bravely to edge Monica Seles, seeded four, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 for a place in the semifinals, is the new Capriati.

What you lose overnight may sometimes take the rest of your career to rediscover. And even then, it may not be quite the same thing. In their own way, both Capriati, the 12th seed, and Seles, have realised this, although it has taken a long time for them to come to terms with the conundrum.

Both lost about two-and-a-half years of their careers, from 1993- 1996 for entirely different reasons. While Seles was stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan in Hamburg, a few months later, after the 1993 U.S.Open, Capriati threw her racquets in the attic and fled the hot-house.

Of course, as champions, there can hardly be any comparison between the two. But for the accident, Seles might very well have become the most successful champion in the history of women's tennis, such was her dominance in the early 1990s, particularly over arch-rival Steffi Graf.

Capriati was nowhere in the Seles league, and she still isn't. It's just that their quest for lost glory is so similar that when they played each other in a wonderfully entertaining match this afternoon it was difficult not to marvel at few similarities in their lives and careers.

Then again, today's was the sort of loss that might well hasten Seles's departure from the game while instilling in Capriati the belief that she could yet make a serious bid for her maiden Grand Slam title, at age 24.

``It's great. I'm just thrilled. All the hard work has paid off,'' said Capriati, whose victory over Seles today was her first on a Grand Slam stage against the great opponent in six meetings.

She's been around for so long, and from such an young age, that you sometimes forget that Capriati is only 24. And when you see her up close, it becomes obvious that the ``lost years'', the years in the wilderness, have added a few years to her face, a few more lines.

But, that would hardly worry the young lady whose transformation from being a role model to a warning was rather dramatic in the mid-90s. So long as she's able to hit the lines, literally, as she did against Seles, Capriati would be happy. This is probably the best match, point for point, that Capriati has played on a Grand Slam stage in a long, long time. From 2-4 in the second set, till she opened up a 4-0 lead in the decider, the Baroness of the Burnout generation couldn't do a thing wrong.

``Jennifer lifted her game and I went the other way. My serve let me down. She fought better than I did,'' said Seles, after what was only her second loss at the Australian Open in 38 matches.

Seles suggested a late comeback when she broke Capriati's serve in the eighth game but only to lose her own serve and the match in the next game.

The first few games set the tone of the match which was absorbing all the way, not the least the climax to the first set, which Seles won on her eighth setpoint in the 12th game, on Capriati's serve. ``It just sort of started happening. Actually every day is a growing experience,'' said Capriati on her rich vein of form.

In a repeat of last year's semifinal here, Capriati will play Lindsay Davenport, the defending champion. Davenport, seeded two, served with tremendous confidence and power and made light of problems she had with foot faults en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Anna Kournikova in a night match under lights.

The American never once lost serve as Kournikova failed to convert any of the three breakpoint opportunities she had and Davenport, for her part, broke Kournikova's serve three times in the match, once in the first set and twice in the second.

``I saw Jennifer play today. She fought really hard. Hopefully it will be another good match,'' said Davenport, looking forward to the semifinal match against Capriati.

Agassi downs Martin

For another famous American, one whose star status would dwarf Capriati's - Andre Agassi - life in tennis has been one long learning process too. But, at age 30, the gifted shotmaker from Las Vegas is not only playing some of the best tennis of his career but also gives you the impression that he closer to the his peak than to the twilight of his career.

``I am fitter at close to 31 than I was at 21,'' Agassi said today after beating Todd Martin 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 58 minutes to make the semifinals.

The defending champion was on song from the moment he broke Martin's serve in the 11th game of the first set with a backhand up the line. Agassi's giant countryman, who ousted Pete Sampras in the fourth round, was outplayed in the second when Martin lost serve twice.

In the decider, after once swapping breaks, Agassi broke Martin's serve in the 10th game with a delightful backhand lob to close out the match.

``This is a great arena for me to play in,'' said Agassi, the top favourite for the title with the bookmakers here. ``I've gotten better as the tournament has gone on. I was executing everything today as well as possible.'' Agassi will need to do that once again on Thursday if he is to get past the Great Australian Hope, Pat Rafter.

Playing the best tennis he has ever played at Melbourne Park, Rafter flirted with danger briefly before snuffing out the considerable challenge posed by Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty for a 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-0 victory completed shortly before midnight. The 12th seeded Australian won 12 out of the last 13 games.

After losing the first set tamely, Hrbaty dominated the second set tiebreak with confident serve-and-volley tennis against one of the finest exponents of that brand of the game. What is more, the toothy Slovakian opened up a 3-0 lead in the third set before Rafter battled back with a break in the seventh game.

A forehand winner off a Hrbaty backhand that sat up off the tape saw Rafter nudge ahead 6-5 and he served out the third set in style before running away with the fourth and the match.

``It feels very, very satisfying to be back home and doing it. It's been a long time,'' said Rafter. ``I am going to have to serve better and be more inventive from the baseline against Andre (Agassi),'' he said.

In a first round boys doubles matches, India's Sunil Kumar, playing with Pramote Malasitt of Thailand went down 7-6, 4-6, 3-6 to Philipp Petschner and Alex Schweitzer of Germany.

Vijay Amritraj's son, Prakash Amritraj, had his first taste of success as he partnered Lester Cook of the United States to beat Thomas George and Brett Hunter of Austria 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

The results: Men: Andre Agassi bt Todd Martin 7- 5, 6-3, 6-4; Pat Rafter bt Dominik Hrbaty 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-0.

Women: Jennifer Capriati bt Monica Seles 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Lindsay Davenport bt Anna Kournikova 6-4, 6-2.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : India keeps favourite tag
Next     : R.I. Singh advances to last eight