Capriati Gunning for First Title in 1-1/2 Years in New Haven Final; Srichaphan, Blake in Long Island Semis

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
It was two and two into the semis at Long Island Friday -- two seeds in (1)Srichaphan (d. (Q)Morrison) and (7)El Aynaoui (d. (2)Kuerten), and two unseeded players in James Blake (d. Nieminen in three), and wildcard Nicolas Kiefer (d. Chela, who retired in the second with a stomach virus). "I felt that my game was great tonight," El Aynaoui said. "I had never beaten Gustavo before so I really wanted to beat him tonight. I concentrated on my serve in the first set and that seemed to help me get settled. I tried to keep the points short and I was effective with that strategy." Blake had to make some adjustments in the first-time meeting with the Fin Nieminen. "I had only practiced with Jarkko before so it was tough to handle his lefty serve at first. I tried to focus though and mix up my serves and that seemed to help. I am very happy with this win tonight. Hardcourt is definitely my best surface, and being back in the States, especially New York, the fans really get behind me. It makes a big difference in my play." Saturday's Strong Island semis are (1)Srichaphan vs. (WC)Kiefer (Kiefer leads head-to-head 2-0, both back in 1999), and Blake vs. (7)El Aynaoui (Blake, in first SF since February, leads 1-0).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top-seeded Lindsey Davenport advanced easily Friday to the final at New Haven with a win over unseeded Russian Elena Dementieva in the brutal northeast humidity, gaining her fourth consecutive New Haven final. She will meet Jennifer Capriati in the all-American final, with JenCap beating Amelie Mauresmo in the nightcap. The Capriati-Mauresmo semi featured an unwatchable array of baseline bashing and hyper-racquet powered unforced errors, with both players struggling with the humid conditions until the Frenchwoman retired with stomach pain. "It's great to have a lot of success here," said Davenport, who has amazingly lost in the last three New Haven finals to Venus Williams. "It would be nice to actually go on and win the tournament one time." It is a huge opportunity for JenCap (0-2 in finals this year), who has not won a title since the 2002 Australian Open. Davenport leads the head-to-head 9-2, including the last four meetings. It is the 70th career final for Davenport, who is 38-31 in championship matches. The doubles final will be Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. Molik/Serna.

2003 TENNIS-X TOP TITLE CHOKERS (Singles)
Players on the ATP and WTA Tours with more losses than wins in finals this year. Mardy Fish takes over the top spot after his loss in the TMS-Cincy final, his third on the year with no wins. Jennifer Capriati threatens to top the list with a loss today in the New Haven final (minimum three runner-up efforts, through Aug. 17, 2003):

Position/Player/W-L in finals:
1. Mardy Fish (USA) 0-3
2. Lindsey Davenport (USA) 1-4
3. Venus Williams (USA) 1-3
4T. Agustin Calleri (ARG) 1-2
4T. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 1-2

WTA NEW HAVEN ON TV (EST)
Sat., Aug. 23, 1-3pm, CBS (live - final)

TENNIS-X ONGOING PETE SAMPRAS TRIBUTE: SAMPRAS VS. OTHER NO. 1s
Pete Sampras dominated 14 of his 16 fellow No. 1s he faced during his career, struggling only in the final years against the power of Marat Safin and the backcourt consistency of Lleyton Hewitt:

20-14 vs. Andre Agassi
16-4 vs. Jim Courier
12-4 vs. Patrick Rafter
12-7 vs. Boris Becker
11-2 vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov
9-2 vs. Thomas Muster
8-6 vs. Stefan Edberg
5-3 vs. Ivan Lendl
4-5 vs. Lleyton Hewitt
3-0 vs. John McEnroe
3-1 vs. Carlos Moya
3-4 vs. Marat Safin
2-0 vs. Jimmy Connors
2-0 vs. Marcelo Rios
2-1 vs. Gustavo Kuerten
2-1 vs. Mats Wilander

Other losers:
18-4 vs. Todd Martin
12-6 vs. Goran Ivanisevic
12-8 vs. Michael Chang
9-0 vs. Cedric Pioline
9-1 vs. Greg Rusedski
7-3 vs. Mark Philippoussis
6-1 vs. Tim Henman
5-4 vs. Brad Gilbert
5-0 vs. Albert Costa
4-5 vs. Michael Stich
4-6 vs. Richard Krajicek
2-3 vs. Sergi Bruguera
1-2 vs. Andy Roddick
0-1 vs. Roger Federer
0-0 vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
The women's side of the US Open turned into a guaranteed all-waffle party Friday when Venus Williams joined her sister Serena in pulling from the draw, citing her ongoing abdominal injury: "I kept thinking I would be able to compete. Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be. So, with regret, I have to pull out of this tournament and continue my recovery."...On Sunday the WTA will continue it's "We're media friendly!" format, at the US Open making available Kim "The Slamless Wonder" Clijsters, Justine "I'll Be No. 1 Soon" Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay "Once My Foot Goes Out Again, I'm Retired" Davenport, Maria "Grunt-licious" Sharapova, Ashley "I Was the Next Anna Before the Injury" Harkleroad, and Svetlana "Umm, I Play Doubles with Martina" Kuznetsova for 20 minutes in a press conference format...Wonder why Venus wasn't going to be made available, because this announcement was made well before she pulled...The ATP will counter by making available Lleyton Hewitt to tell reporters to piss off...How is the kid, Andy Roddick, who has a self-described "panic" and absolutely folded against Pete Sampras at the Open last year now suddenly the favorite?...Plans are being made for Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras to play doubles against John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in Las Vegas, possibly on Dec. 27, in a nationally-televised match, according to the LA Times. That could be pretty ugly; if we were Pete we'd tell Andre to stay back, play one-up, one-back, girl's-12-doubles style. Then again, since Pete hasn't been playing much, maybe they should both stay back...Yikes, the Pam Shriver-Mary Joe Fernandez combo doing the commentary for ESPN's coverage of the New Haven event this week really makes you appreciate ESPN's "A"-team of commentators that do the slams...The doubles combo of Ruano Pascual and Suarez have the reached the last six women's slam finals...JenCap, thank you for not wearing the midriff-baring top at New Haven...What's with the French and their shanks on hardcourt? Amelie Mauresmo shanks every third backhand just like Cedric Pioline used to do at the Open...The classy Martina Navratilova says she won't play mixed doubles at the US Open because her regular partner, Leander Paes, is hospitalized with a brain lesion: "I will not be playing mixed doubles at the U.S. Open without Leander Paes because he is a true partner, and the special connection we share cannot be replaced. Our bond was much more than winning titles, and my thoughts are with this wonderful man for a speedy and full recovery."...While Younes El Aynaoui was on court winning in Long Island Thursday, his wife Anne Sophie was in Paris giving birth to the couple's third son, Noam Ismail; ballkids presented El Aynaoui with a teddy bear for his newborn son, as last year his wife and sons Ewan and Neil were by his side during the tournament. He sat the teddy bear on his courtside bench during his match against Gustavo Kuerten, and on Thursday morning hit with some of the ballkids...James Blake on recovering from his shoulder injury: "It has taken a lot of work, but constant exercise has helped rehab it. I've done them every day; it's just like brushing my teeth."...Don't forget, it's Kids Day at the US Open Saturday. Scheduled to appear are Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, the rock group Smash Mouth and a countless number of screaming kids...The US Open will also host on Saturday the World Team Tennis final between Delaware and Sacremento.