Mauresmo goes mental

Upsets Capriati with smart, tactical play

NEW YORK -- After the last of Jennifer Capriati's 51 unforced errors sailed a good yard beyond the baseline, Amelie Mauresmo exhaled. Then she trotted toward the net and, in keeping with the gesture du jour in pro tennis, pounded her heart. (Note to Lleyton Hewitt: You've created a monster, mate.) Mauresmo had every reason to punctuate her mettle. Her thigh swaddled in a bandage, playing in oppressively humid conditions, she beat Capriati, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, for the third time in eight weeks and advanced to the semifinals of her second straight Slam. But it would have been fitting had she pointed to her head.

For all the ballistic ballstriking in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Wednesday's battle was one of wills and wits and not muscle. It was settled between, as they might say in France, les oreilles. Power and athleticism might be the dual coins of the realm in women's tennis, but now they're no longer enough; players need to supplement their brawn with brains.

After a rocky start, Mauresmo made a few adjustments -- some more subtle than others -- and turned from a brawler to a puncher. She mixed up her drives with loops, slices and cutters, varying not only the speed and the placement of her balls but the height as well. As soon it became clear that high-bouncing, topspin-kissed forehands were presenting Capriati with trouble, Mauresmo hit them with increasing frequency. She attacked the net, putting pressure on Capriati to come up with passes. She played defense, an odd role for someone who could bench press a Lincoln Town Car.

She also destroyed her opponent's rhythm. Mauresmo took her sweet time between points, refusing to play along with Capriati's customary presto pace. Nothing illegal, not unsportsmanlike. Or even unsportswomanlike. But it was unmistakably a head game, and it worked to perfection. Capriati, visibly peeved as she waited for Mauresmo to ready herself, missed scads of big serves and double-faulted four times in the final set. "That's the game," Mauresmo said afterward, smiling wryly. "If I need time, I'm going to take it."

Capriati was not amused. "No comment," she responded, when asked about Mauresmo's leisurely tempo.

Mauresmo was also mentally superior when it mattered most. Serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set, Capriati was oddly tentative, her balls wobbling with hesitation. Instead of sizing up the lines, her shots wafted to the middle of the court. She lost the game and, after a shaky tiebreaker, the match was suddenly tied at one set apiece. "I got tight," she admirably admitted. Did she choke? "Getting tight," she conceded, "is basically saying you choked."

Mauresmo knows the feeling. Since she made her breakthrough at the 1999 Australian Open, it's been obvious that her power and athleticism could put her on the fast track to the top five. Her head, however, lagged behind. Dozens of matches, often on the grandest stages, were lost before she even walked on the court. Mental wounds from a particularly jangly nerved performance at the 2001 French Open were raw for nearly a year. For better or worse, she was keenly aware of her mental shortcomings. Time and again, she and the press would sit down after a loss and discuss why someone so bright sometimes lacked the mental discipline to close out matches. The diagnosis? "Maybe," Mauresmo said, "I was thinking too much."

With the help of a new coach (Loic Coutreau), a change of scenery (she relocated from the French Riviera to Switzerland) and some quality time with a sports psychologist, her fragile psyche is hardening. On Wednesday she held her serve throughout the afternoon and, despite letting a few match points slip through her fingers at 5-3, closed out the final set with little drama. "It feels great inside," she said. "I can hang in there and really make the opponent play one more shot each time."

Old habits, however, are hard to break. When Capriati was serving for the match -- with a partisan, pro-JenJen crowd cheering her on -- were positive thoughts zipping through Mauresmo's head? You can do it. Win this game and you're right back in it. You've beaten her twice before. Just play your game. Uh, not quite. "I thought, OK, it's not my day and I'm gonna go back home tonight."

Eventually, mind trumped matter. And 138 minutes after she took the court, Mauresmo was smiling from here to St. Tropez, making mental preparations for the Venus Williams-Monica Seles winner. Half an hour later, Mauresmo was beseeched for an interview by a European television crew. "Can we do it upstairs?" she asked. "Upstairs is better for me." No one can argue that.

Half volleys

At the start of the Capriati-Mauresmo match, the number of fans in the stands equaled the crowd watching Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis practice. ... Younes El Aynaoui was walking the grounds Wednesday when a fan approached him for an autograph. "Great match against Hewitt," the pen wielder said. His friend looked at him quizzically: "Great match against Hewitt? They don't play until later today." Fan No. 1 replied: "Wait, that wasn't James Blake?" ... Sandy Koufax was rumored to have made a rare appearance Tuesday night. ... Consensus is that given the way they fared at the U.S. Open, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras will get the call in singles for the Davis Cup tie against France. Blake, the other candidate, may well see doubles action. ... How about some props for Jim Courier's work in the booth? Though he (in addition to everything and everyone else at the Open) has been overshadowed by a certain other former-player-turned-commentator, Courier has been perceptive and honest without lapsing into "back in my day" rants.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim is covering the U.S. Open for CNNSI.com. Check back each evening to read his daily reports, and click here to send a question to his Tennis Mailbag.

 

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