Serena, Capriati Feature in Blowouts at Miami

Posted on March 28, 2004

The top stars again demonstrated the vast talent chasm between themselves and the rest of the players on the WTA Tour, with Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati dropping only two games between them on the opening day of seeded play Friday in Miami.

Serena, playing her first event since last July at Wimbledon after undergoing knee surgery, showed no mercy to Marta Marrero in a 6-1, 6-0 anticlimactic return to competition. Capriati likewise left fans hungry after a 6-0, 6-1 blowout against Klara "Kouky" Koukalova, with both losers left to ponder what might have been of the score if their opponents weren't coming off injury lay-offs.

"I definitely knew I'd been away," said Serena after her long day's work. "I haven't been around this atmosphere in a long time and I felt it. I had a few butterflies at the beginning but once I stepped on the court they were gone."

Just in case spectators were in the dark as to who was playing, Serena's headband had rhinestones spelling out "Serena," with a unique Wonderwoman corset-type outfit designed to slim the waist, according to Serena who teamed with Nike in the design. "My lovely outfit is wonderful silk, actually," Serena said.

Other seeded winners Friday were (17)Maria "Grunt-o-rama" Sharapova (d. Asagoe 6-0 in the third), (18)Magui "Don't Call Me Maggie" Serna (d. (WC)J.Jackson in three), (25)Eleni Daniilidou (d. Morigami), and (29)Karolina Sprem (d. Lee-Waters).

Seeded losers on the day were (6)Ai Sugiyama (l. to Vento-Kabchi), (14)Maggie Maleeva (l. to Jankovic), (22)Tina Pisnik (l. to Kapros in three), (23)Dinara "Little Sis" Safina (l. convincingly to French teen (WC)Golovin), and (30)Petra Mandula (l. to Craybas).

Unseeded winners were Japan's Saori Obata (d. (Q)Jidkova 6-0 in the third), Aussie Nicole Pratt (d. Parra in three), Russian Tatiana "The Pocket Baseliner" Panova (d. Barbara "Don't Give a" Schett), Puerto Rico's Kristina Brandi (d. Kostanic), wildcards Shenay Perry (d. Weingartner) and Lubomira Kurhajcova (d. (WC)Vaidisova), and qualifiers Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie (d. Ondraskova), Vera Douchevina (d. Gagliardi) and Maria Kirilenko (d. Callens 7-6 in the third).
   
On court today in the rain-backed-up schedule are Zheng vs. (2)V.Williams, (27)Daniela "The Walking Stick" Hantuchova vs. Tanasugarn, (24)Molik vs. Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier, Pratt vs. (12)Dokic in a battle for the supremacy of Australia, (5)Dementieva vs. (Q)Dragomir Ilie, (Q)Santangelo vs. (11)Farina Elia in an all-Italian, Panova vs. (20)Raymond in an all-stubby match-up, (19)Shaughnessy vs. Brandi, (8)Petrova vs. (Q)Kirilenko in an all-Russian, (Q)Grande vs. (13)Smashnova, (16)Zuluaga vs. (WC)Perry, Diaz-Oliva vs. (32)Loit, Garbin vs (7)Zvonareva, Perebiynis vs. (21)Dechy, Obata vs. (26)Sanchez Lorenzo, (10)Kuznetsova vs. Kremer, (28)Krasnoroutskaya vs. (Q)Douchevina in yet another all-Russian, (WC)Kutuzova vs. Dulko, (15)Schiavone vs. Kurhajcova, and (9)Suarez vs. Chladkova.

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Tim Hemnan (l. to Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer) and Rainer Schuettler (l. to Nicolas Kiefer) were the two Top 10 seeds ejected Friday at Miami, among a total six seeds sent home early on the day.

"When you play in those types of conditions, it doesn't dull my competitive instincts and how hard I try, but it's very difficult for everyone out there," said Henman on the gusty, slow humid conditions.

Joining then on the sidelines were (10) Nicolas Massu (l. to Pavel), (16)Mardy Fish (l. to (Q)Benneteau), (24)Arnaud Clement (l. to Ljubicic in three), (29)Jarkko Nieminen (l. to three-set specialist Todd Martin), and (30)Gaston Gaudio (the dirt specialist upended by American Robby Ginepri, who looks to have secured his Davis Cup spot).

Seeded winners were (3)Guillermo Coria (d. Ferreira), (17)Lleyton Hewitt (d. Soderling, with his draw opened up by the Henman loss), (25)Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Saulnier in three), and (32)Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal (d. (WC)Ivanisevic who retired with a flaring up of his shoulder injury).

Other unseeded winners were Belgians Olivier Rochus (d. (Q)Carlsen) and Xavier Malisse (d. Labadze), Argentines Mariano Zabaleta (d. Carraz), Guillermo Canas (d. (WC)Haas), qualifier Franco "The Squirrel" Squillari (d. H.-T. Lee in three), and qualifying teen Juan Monaco (d. J.Johansson in a stunner).

On court Saturday in the rain-backed-up schedule are Spadea vs. (31)Safin, Beck vs. (2)Roddick, (1)Federer vs. Davydenko, Zabaleta vs. (4)Agassi, (18)Kuerten vs. (Q)Monaco, (Q)Mello vs. (9)Srichaphan, (5)Moya vs. Sanchez in an all-Spanish, (Q)Hernych vs. (11)Philippoussis, (26)Bjorkman vs. Dent in an all serve-vs.-return, (12)Grosjean vs. N.Lapentti, (13)Schalken vs. Canas, (15)Verkerk vs. (WC)Reid, (21)Gonzalez vs. Kucera, Xavier "X-Man" Malisse vs. (22)Costa, (28)Max "The Beast" Mirnyi vs. (Q)Squillari, Burgsmuller vs. (20)Calleri, (19)Robredo vs. O.Rochus, Ulihrach vs. (27)Hrbaty, Ascione vs. (23)Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, Verdasco vs. Stepanek, and (Q)Koubek vs. (14)Novak.

ATP ALL-TIME TOP 10 WIN LEADERS -- MIAMI
Six-time Masters Series-Miami winner Andre Agassi leads the pack, with active players in bold (since the inception of the Masters Series in 1990):

1. Agassi, Andre (USA) 53-8
2. Sampras, Pete (USA) 42-9
3. Courier, Jim (USA) 30-10
4. Rios, Marcelo (CHI) 20-7
5. Edberg, Stefan (SWE) 19-7
6. Bjorkman, Jonas (SWE) 18-10
7T. Chang, Michael (USA) 18-11
7T. Ivanisevic, Goran (CRO) 18-11
9. Krajicek, Richard (NED) 16-7
10. Spadea, Vincent (USA) 16-9

WTA ALL-TIME TOP 10 WIN LEADERS -- MIAMI
A Williams sister has yet to crack the Top 10 win leaders at Miami, with Steffi Graf's record looking like it will stand for some time (active players in bold):

1. Graf, Steffi (GER) 59-6
2. Sabatini, Gabriela (ARG) 45-11
3. Seles, Monica (USA) 32-7
4. Capriati, Jennifer (USA) 32-12
5. Evert, Chris (USA) 31-4
6. Fernandez, Mary Joe (USA) 31-11
7. Tauziat, Nathalie (FRA) 31-16
8. Davenport, Lindsay (USA) 30-11
9. Sanchez Vicario, Arantxa (ESP) 30-12
10. Hingis, Martina (SUI) 27-5

MIAMI USA BROADCAST SCHEDULE (EST)
Sun., March 28, Tennis Channel, 11am-11pm (live)
Sun., March 28, ESPN, 2-4pm (tape)
Mon., March 29, Tennis Channel, 12am-10am (tape)
Mon., March 29, ESPN, 1-5pm (live), 9:30-11:30pm (tape)
Tues., March 30, ESPN, 1-5pm (live)
Wed., March 31, ESPN, 1-5pm (live), ESPN2, 12:30-2:30am (tape)
Thurs., April 1, ESPN, 1-5pm (live), ESPN2, 11pm-1a, (tape), 12:30-2:30am (tape)
Fri., April 2, ESPN 3-5pm (live), ESPN2 7-9pm (live)
Sat., April 3, CBS, noon-2pm (live)
Sun., April 4, CBS, noon-3pm (live)
 
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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
On Friday Serena Williams debuted her new look in an outfit designed in a collaboration with Nike: "For my first tournament, I met with Nike and shared some of my ideas and they were able to design a beautiful custom dress that has a breathable silver corset and satin skirt and I love it...Its corset design makes me look very, very slim and trim in the waist."...Andy Roddick thinks the ATP needs to get on the proactive tip and integrate the computer video replay technology into matches: "I think it would be great for tennis and the spectacle of tennis if you were allowed to challenge two calls a match. I think that would create kind of a cool variable. If they can prove it's 100 percent accurate and that the technology works and that it's not just good for TV, I think it would be great. Why not? It would add a little fire to it for sure...You would check it, they would check the shot spot and you're on your way again. I don't think it would be more than a 25- or 30-second delay (during matches)." You know it's eventually going to happen, it's just a matter of the ATP holding six months worth of meetings to approve it. How embarrassing was that last week during ESPN's coverage of Indian Wells when their "ShotSpot" replays showed linesmen/women repeatedly blowing calls during big points, or missing calls on serves that were inches out?...Andre Agassi says he is at home in the challenging Miami conditions: "I've always enjoyed the conditions here. The court, I think, is a real good court for my style of game especially. You can hit through the court or you can work the ball, so it gives me options with my game. The wind is always something I've succeeded in, whenever there is breezy conditions, as well as hot conditions. So it's always been a good place to bring out the best in my game." Not so for Tim Henman, who has never fared well in Miami...Marat Safin says it's much harder to be a top player these days: "The way that the level grew up in the past let's say five, six years, the way they improved, it's unbelievable. It wasn't like this when (Boris) Becker used to play, when (Stefan) Edberg used to play, when (Andre) Agassi started and (Pete) Sampras and (John) McEnroe was there. It was like Top 10, Top 20 and then the rest of the guys. Now tennis is more competitive, and it's more equal between the guy who was No. 1 in the world to like 99 in the world, even 100."...Andy Roddick doesn't see himself with the longevity of an Andre Agassi: "At 34, I'm going to be eating Cheetos and watching football. I have an insane amount of respect for him. It's amazing that he comes out here -- not only that he comes out here and plays, he's gifted enough, he's a good enough player to come out here and compete. But the way he competes. I mean, he treats every match like it's Armageddon. He just comes out here and puts it all on the line every time."...Vince Spadea is intent on talking his way onto the U.S. Davis Cup team, especially after beating James Blake Thursday, and watching Mardy Fish fall by the wayside Friday: "Obviously I'm in contention. Patrick (McEnroe) has to make the decision that he feels will win him the most matches." Sorry Vincenzo, you could reach the final and you'd still be the victim of age discrimination on P-Mac's squad...Serena Williams has dumped her IMG representation and gone with the William Morris Agency, no doubt in the hopes of getting more (bad, cough) acting opportunities...Goran Ivanisevic on retiring with his recurring shoulder problem: "I had a problem with my shoulder, maybe the nerve is jammed. The first match was fine but now it was a heavy arm, bothering me like this before my surgery. It's pretty disappointing because if I'm serving normally I don't see the way I lose this match. It bothered me a little bit in Milan after the first match but not like this. I thought today after a couple of games that it would get looser. But it was not good...It's just sad but I know that it's my last Key Biscayne for sure."..."Actor Serena," who apparently speaks in the second person, is refuting those "who say that Serena isn't serious about tennis; she wants to go Hollywood. That's true, about Hollywood. I would love to get a lot of acting gigs. But you wouldn't believe the stuff I've turned down because of my tournament schedule...I would do well beside (comedian) Chris Tucker."...ESPN on the Serena outfit: "Just as talked about as her infamous catsuit, this outfit -- designed by a team at Nike to accent her trim, fit figure -- featured a combination of Marilyn Monroe meets the Jetsons. Think Xena, Warrior Princess in a satin-lycra blend. The fitted top, accented by silver piping, merged with an 8-inch silver "corset" (minus laces) above a floaty, silk skirt, similar to that worn by figure skaters. With the wind out of the east at 28 mph, she fluttered enough to have to stop before serving and adjust the skirt. In fact, it's amazing she didn't have more than 21 unforced errors in the match. How distracting to have one's skirt floating waist-high."...James Blake, striving to regain his spot on the U.S. D-Cup team, is instead establishing his reputation as the guy who will fall apart in the third set...Whatever Anna Kournikova is smoking, we want some of that: "My target is to be fully fit and then to start winning major matches again...If you saw me with my clothes off you'd see that my body is in great shape and ready to take on the world...I could snap my fingers and have any man I wanted but I have too much respect for myself for that...I was offered a part in a Bond film but had to turn it down because of my sporting commitments. I'd still love to be a Bond girl though. Perhaps that will come after my tennis...People can look then wonder about the taste and the sensuous delights of the dish, but when it comes down to it they simply can't afford such an expensive luxury." So take those clothes off, we'll be the judge. We'll give the Playboy spread about two years.