Mauresmo hot streak leaves Capriati in the cold
France's Amélie Mauresmo, whose style of tennis is the most pleasing to watch of any player in the top 10 with its combination of grace, power and variation, notably on her one-handed backhand which is the best in the women's game, reached the semi-finals of the US Open in New York.
The No3 seed Jennifer Capriati was overcome 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. It was not exactly a shock, Mauresmo having now won her past three matches against Capriati, including this year's Wimbledon quarter-final. However, the 23-year-old is notorious for suffering from nerves and with the crowd solidly behind the New York-born American this was a notable victory.
Since winning this year's Australian Open, her third grand slam title, Capriati has struggled to find her form and no longer appears to be enjoying her tennis. It took her nearly 11 years to win her first grand slam and now the pressure of chasing the Williams sisters seems to be weighing down the 26-year-old former child prodigy.
Mauresmo, as usual, was prone to careless errors at important moments but managed to steady her game sufficiently to force Capriati to self-destruct. "If Amélie plays her best game I think she has a chance to get to the final," said Capriati, who denied she had lost her joy and love for the game.
Serena Williams, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion and No1 seed here, had reached the semi- final under floodlights with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, who had previously defeated Belgium's Justine Henin. The younger of the Williams sisters will play her fellow American Lindsay Davenport in tomorrow's semi-final and currently appears omnipotent. "I feel so free and floating," she said, which given her size is an interesting concept.
Lleyton Hewitt, the reigning US Open and Wimbledon champion, must have felt he was back home in Melbourne with a hot sun and a gusty wind on his back. Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui attempted to knock the Australian off his perch on top of the world but to no avail, Hewitt winning their quarter-final 6-1, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. He now has a two-day rest before "Super Saturday", when both men's semi-finals will be played, with the final on Sunday. Such a punishing programme clearly benefits the younger player, and Hewitt remains the overwhelming favourite.
New America and old America are poised to meet for a place in those Saturday semi-finals in a quarter-final match which may be highly significant for both Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick. Should Sampras lose he may seriously consider retirement in the near future, whereas victory for the 20-year-old Roddick could be the impetus he needs to win his first grand slam title.
There is no doubt who the television companies and the tennis money men want to win, and that's Roddick. Roddick is seen as the player who might, just might, lift the men's game out of its current trough. Tennis is very much a minority sport in the US and, with Sampras and Andre Agassi close to the end of their illustrious careers, a new kid on the block is an absolute necessity. And he has to be a winner, so the pressure on Roddick is immense.
Greg Rusedski was proved wrong when, after losing to Sampras in the third round, he stated he would be " surprised if he wins his next match against Tommy Haas. To be honest with you, I'd be very surprised". Presumably if Rusedski was sitting on a chair he fell off it, Sampras completing a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory over the young German, who is currently, if somewhat undeservedly, the world No3.
Haas has never progressed beyond the semi-finals of a slam, and rarely looked likely to beat Sampras, even though the 31-year-old American, the holder of a record 13 slam titles, appeared slow and weary in the third set. "It took stamina, and I was feeling it at the end. But this is the US Open. You dig deep," said Sampras, who left a trail of sweat on the baseline and on occasions had a look of desperation in his eyes, particularly as that third set slipped away.
But on this occasion Sampras's most potent weapon, his serve, stayed in the groove and Haas, suffering from arm and shoulder problems, was never able to get the true measure of it. "I've still got the game, it's still there," said Sampras. "It's not quite as consistent, but I've still got it."
It was as if he still needed to convince himself. Or, maybe, convince Roddick. The two have met twice over three sets, with Roddick winning both, so he will not be in the least overawed. He won his own fourth-round match against Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, the conqueror of Tim Henman, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a typically adrenalin-charged performance which had the crowd on its feet and Roddick in among the crowd, throwing high fives after one extraordinary rally.
Today's other men's quarter-final is between Holland's Sjeng Schalken, who came so close to defeating Hewitt at Wimbledon, and Fernando Gonzalez, a burly 22-year-old from Chile whose huge hitting has begun to shoot him up the rankings - and frighten the life out of his opponents.