The Pathmark Tennis Classic got what it wanted: Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati in its final.
It came, however, only after Kathy Rinaldi had almost ruined Seles` much- publicized return to tennis after skipping Wimbledon because of shin splints and a stress fracture in her left leg.
Rinaldi extended Seles to three sets Saturday night before dropping a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 decision to the world`s top-ranked player.
”The leg is fine, but you can see I am not in the form I want to be in,” said Seles, who after the match announced she would not represent Yugoslavia in the Federation Cup in England, starting Monday. ”The leg was tired. I have to be careful.”
The victory put Seles into Sunday`s final against Capriati, who defeated Peanut Louie-Harper 6-4, 6-4 Saturday afternoon.
Capriati struggled against Harper, who at 30 is twice her age. The match swung Capriati`s way on a bad call in the eighth game. Harper was leading 4-3 and the score was tied 30-30 when Capriati appeared to hit a ball long. Harper watched the ball bounce and didn`t bother to return it.
But the call went against her and instead of Harper having a break point, Capriati went ahead 40-30. She then held serve on the next point and won 16 of the next 17 points to finish off the opening set and grab a 2-0 lead in the second.
