OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Reuter) - Fifth seed Jennifer Capriati
shook off another slow start Thursday before storming into the
quarterfinals of the IGA Tennis Classic.
The former teen-age sensation, now 20-years-old, fell behind
0-3 in the first set to Kyoka Nagatsuka of Japan before rallying
for a 6-3, 6-2 victory in a second round match.
Capriati earned a quarterfinal meeting with top-seeded
Olympic champion Lindsay Davenport.
Third seed Kimberly Po and fourth-seeded fellow American
Lisa Raymond also moved into the quarters, as did semi-retired
veteran Pam Shriver.
The 19th-ranked Po easily dismissed local favorite Lindsay
Lee 6-1, 6-4 and will next face compatriot Sandra Cacic.
Raymond, ranked 26th, stopped Alexia Dechaume-Balleret of
France 6-4, 6-3 to set up a quarterfinal with Shriver.
The 34-year-old Shriver, who rarely plays singles anymore,
advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadian Rene Simpson.
``I'm probably ending a 19-year (singles) career here, so
it's nice to get two wins and get into the quarterfinals,''
Shriver said. ``I've made no future plans to play singles again
on the Corel WTA Tour.''
Capriati, now ranked 27th in the second year of her
comeback, got off to a similarly slow start in her first round
match before turning her game up a few notches
From 0-3 down against Nagatsuka, Capriati reeled off eight
consecutive games to take the first set and a 2-0 lead in the
second. She was in command the rest of the way.
``I've been a slow starter this week,'' said Capriati, who
beat Davenport in the semifinals of the Sydney International in
Australia last month.
``It takes me a while to get into it. It's a mental thing. I
have to be ready for the first point,'' she said.
``I know I can't do this against Lindsay.''