Crowning glory for Capriati

CHARLESTON, APRIL 23. Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati defeated World no. 1 Martina Hingis 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the $1.2 million Family Circle Cup here on Sunday.

In a rematch of January's Australian Open final, the 25-year-old American used an overpowering first set to subdue the 20-year-old Swiss star, rising to 23-4 for the season by taking the $178,000 top prize.

``It shows that it's not just a one-time thing in Australia, and I knew that myself inside,'' Capriati said. ``I could have felt pressure that, if I didn't win here, then it's going to be like a fluke or something. But I didn't put that pressure on myself.''

Capriati will move past Monica Seles in the WTA rankings which will be released on Monday, as she moves into a career-high fourth. Capriati settled for runner-up showings earlier this year at Oklahoma City, Scottsdale and Miami.

Hingis already rates Capriati among the WTA elite alongside Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams and reigning French Open champion Mary Pierce.

``They're always saying that if she gets all her things together, she's one of the top five players, definitely,'' Hingis said. ``Lindsay, the sisters, and pretty soon she's there too. Monica hasn't been doing that well, nor Mary either. So it's Jennifer who's up there with us now, definitely.''

Capriati bounced back this week in her first event since squandering eight match points against compatriot Venus Williams in the Miami tennis Masters Series final earlier this month.

Capriati broke Hingis nine times in the match, including the second, fourth and sixth games of the first and last sets. The first set lasted only 19 minutes.

Capriati rolled to a 5-1 lead in the last set and withstood a service break by Hingis to break back and win on the Swiss star's serve. Capriati went up 0-40 in the last game and won two points later when Hingis' backhand went wide.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Sonal survives a Preeti scare