On the verge of victory, Jennifer Capriati hit a serve that would shame the worst weekend hacker. The lip of her racket sent the ball sailing over Serena Williams’ head and into the first row of seats.
“I’ve never done that,” Capriati said later with a sheepish grin. “That was kind of cool, though.”
She could smile because she regrouped for another impressive win in her career comeback. Despite the shanked serve and other shaky moments, Capriati outlasted the sixth-ranked Williams 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of the Ericsson Open.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Capriati, a former teenage prodigy who turns 24 on Wednesday. “I’m just very happy, because it shows I’ve really come a long way.”
Potential obstacles in this tournament include top-seeded Martina Hingis and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport. Hingis also advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4, while Davenport eliminated Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-4. Seles, seeded seventh, beat No. 9 Anna Kournikova 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.
After Monday’s match, Williams was informed that the NAACP has encouraged a boycott of South Carolina over the issue of flying the Confederate flag and said she may skip next month’s tournament at Hilton Head Island.
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” Williams, 18, said when informed of the NAACP position. “Maybe I won’t play. … I’m not going to support anything that’s putting down my race.”
In men’s play, top-seeded Andre Agassi advanced to a fourth-round showdown against Patrick Rafter by sweeping Andrei Pavel 6-4, 6-3.
