Serena, Capriati Set Up Rematch at Wimbledon

Posted on June 30, 2004

Top Americans Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal meeting at Wimbledon on Tuesday, with Serena seeking revenge after losing the last two encounters earlier this year.

"I really didn't think I played well," said Serena after steamrolling French teen Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour. "I thought I wasn't moving. I wanted to come in a little more, just move the ball around a little more."

Capriati, who overpowered No. 10-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-4, says Serena mentally poses no greater threat than any of the other players on the WTA Tour, despite their recent rivalry.

"It's just about me playing the ball out there," Capriati said. "It's never been about the person. I never really -- that kind of stuff about aura and mystique and personality -- it just never really plays a part."

Both players are known for playing the ball with little variety of shot, with the match-up destined to be a baseline slug-fest that could be contested on any surface in the same mold.

Serena hit a 126 mph ace during her match, a new Wimbledon record, breaking her sister Venus' record of 125 mph set in 1998.

Other fourth round winners were (4)Amelie Mauresmo (d. (14)Farina Elia) and (9)Paola Suarez (d. Rita "Ain't It" Grande 6-2 in the third).

The first two quarterfinals were also played, with (5)Lindsay Davenport (d. Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem) and (13)Maria "Grunt-o-matic" Sharapova (d. (11)Sugiyama 6-1 in the third) into the semis.

"I'm going to give it all. I want to win this tournament and I want it very bad," said Sharapova, who wiped away tears of joy after the win. "When you have a big passion for something and you want to achieve something you give it your all."

On court Wednesday are the other two quarterfinals in (1)Serena vs. (7)Capriati, and (4)Mauresmo vs. (9)Suarez.

No singles play on the men's side Tuesday, but one giant doubles upset with unseeded Americans Justin Gimelstob and Scott Humphries taking out countrymen and No. 2 seeds the Bryan brothers 6-4 in the third. The Wimbledon title continues to elude the twins.

In the winners circle were (1)Bjorkman/Woodbridge (d. Leach/MacPhie 9-7 in the third), (5)Knowles/Nestor (d. Parrott/Spadea), and Zimbabwe's (6)Black/Ullyett (d. Brazil's Sa/Saretta 6-4 in the third).

On court today are the men's singles quarterfinals in (5)Henman vs. Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic (first meeting), (1)Federer vs. (7)Hewitt (Aussie leads 7-4, but has lost the last two meetings), (2)Roddick vs. (12)Schalken (A-Rod leads 4-1), and (10)Grosjean vs. Florian "Oscar" Mayer (first meeting).

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Serena has now won 18 straight matches at Wimbledon, and has been broken just one time...Playing in her (likely) last Wimbledon, Lindsay Davenport has only been broken twice, both coming in her win over Vera Zvonareva...Maria Sharapova is the first Russian to reach the Wimbledon semifinal since Anna Kournikova in 1997. That year was also the last time anyone younger than Maria reached a semifinal, when a 16-year-old Martina Hingis won the title...Serena Williams has reached the quarterfinals at her last 14 Grand Slams...Jennifer Capriati is the last player to beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon...Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic is the last player to beat Roger Federer on grass...Local fans coming to Wimbledon Wednesday morning should be warned there will be no tube service. A 24-hour strike has shut down the tubes from 6pm Tuesday until 6pm Wednesday...All eight men's quarterfinalist are from different countries...Forecast: Gloom and doom as a 70% chance for showers are expected Wednesday...Goran Ivanisevic has hinted that he may eventually want to play some senior tour events. Boris Becker says bring it on: "When younger players join in, like Goran Ivanisevic and Richard Krajicek, they will be a great asset to our tour but they have to be aware that we do want to kick their asses. I thought a few years ago that these old guys wouldn't have a chance against me but guess what, I was beaten the whole time."...Making their debuts this season on the senior tour will be former French Open champs Jim Courier and Sergi Bruguera, and 1996 Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek...This is Sjeng Schalken's third consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal...Tennis Canada announced that Davis Cup captain Grant Connell stepped down from his duties, replaced by Martin Laurendeau as interim captain. "With new career commitments and a young family I felt it was becoming more difficult to honor my obligation as captain," Connell said. "It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of players." Wha? Are there some Canadian players we haven't been told about?...Andre Agassi gave a retirement warning shot, saying the hip is still iffy: "Not playing the clay season and then going straight out to the grass compromised how it's feeling. I knew I wasn't physically in a position to be anywhere near my best. I'm hoping this time off, combined with being back on the hardcourts, will be a good opportunity for me to feel a lot better. I still have a tremendous belief that if I'm feeling good, I can play some of my best tennis. At this stage in my career, I can only think of the ultimate prize. If I don't think I'm in the hunt for that, I won't play."...Mark Philippoussis was fined $2,145 for his foul-mouthed outburst at Wimbledon. An excerpt: "What are you looking at? Cyclops? F--- the Cyclops. That's f------three mistakes. Open your eyes." Some excitement for the kids during prime time, nice one...Virginia Wade says Brit kids are too nice to be champions: "I teach 10- and 11-year-olds and they are nice and shy and they wouldn't dream of making a fuss. I'm not saying that to achieve you need to lose your manners, but that hunger to win is essential and I'm not sure the two can coexist in the British psyche."...Veteran umpire Norm Chryst is officiating at his first Wimbledon: "I get nervous, of course," Chryst told The Independent. "You get nervous every time, especially for big matches. The players are nervous, you are nervous. But when the shit hits the fan, you have to control things. You do damage control. You want to get the match going as soon as possible. You have to explain to the player what you saw, what they saw and get it moving. Typically, you allow the player to ask you twice, then it's 'Time to play, guys'. You have to figure out how to make that happen. It's to do with the nationalities of the players. You talk to them in different ways. You speak to an Englishman in a straightforward way and give them a reasonable answer. Tim Henman, specifically, wants a reasonable explanation. He doesn't just want 'the ball is in' or 'the ball is out'. You talk to a South American differently. He wants 'yes, the ball was in', 'no, the ball was out'. He doesn't want to talk about it. With the French, they want to talk, they don't want to hear you talk."...Hey ITF, quit including Hopman Cup results in your daily note head-to-heads. That's not an event...Florian Mayer is bidding to become only the third player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon on his debut, joining David Nalbandian (2002) and John McEnroe (1977). Mayer is the last German left in a grand slam for the second time this year...Iva Majoli, who beat Martina Hingis in the 1997 French Open final, is quitting tennis at 26 after getting out of shape and plunging in the rankings: "It's over. I will not play tennis any more. Maybe I will play some exhibition or doubles but my career is over. I realized that I fell too low. I am practically at the beginning and I would have to work like a maniac to get back to the top. I am not ready to do that." Nice work ethic.