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Majoli rediscovers her game
By Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
Blow is also what Majoli nearly did to her career. Four springs ago, she was a player on the make, a talented, free-wheeling teenager who had already won two tour events. Then she stunned Martina Hingis in the French Open final to become the lowest seed to win at Roland Garros in the Open Era. She admits now that she was utterly unprepared for what followed. Suddenly a top-five sensation, Majoli was besieged by a tsunami of interview requests, sponsor commitments and assaults on her focus and personal space. What's more, as a notoriously -- how to put this? -- convivial player, she zestfully drank in her success. "I feel like I worked hard to get there," she says. "But when I won the French all of a sudden, my head was flying around." Before she knew it, she was in the throes of a vicious cycle. As losses mounted, her confidence waned; as her confidence waned, losses mounted. To add injury to insult, a chronically sore right shoulder required numerous surgeries and a bad back limited her mobility. Within two years of winning a Grand Slam, Majoli was suddenly ranked outside the top 200, enduring the indignity of groveling for wild cards and playing qualifiers. As deflated and frustrated as she felt, she never considered bagging tennis altogether. "If anything," she says, "when I was sick and dealing with injuries it showed me how much I enjoyed the game." Once her body repaired last year, she went about the gradual, agonizing business of reconstructing her game, her psyche and her ranking. Though she sat out three of the four Slams, she finished 2000 ranked a respectable No. 73. Armed with a nasty forehand, an improved serve and clay-court know-how, she's now playing her best tennis in years. Currently encroaching on the top 40, Majoli is runner-up to her pal Jennifer Capriati in tennis' feel-good comeback story of the year. "What is more important is that I am happy," says Majoli, who travels with her coach, her father and her boyfriend. "I feel good about things, so it's easier to train and then play my best when I get on the court." Which is not to say that she's lost her appetite for la vida loca. She trains largely in Bradenton, Fla., but she's buying a condo next week in South Beach, not far from chez Kournikova. Majoli is quick to point out that the spot is near her favorite clubs, Bed and Opium Gardens. "I have a good time there," she says. "But tennis is still my top priority." At the wizened age of 22, Majoli knows there is still a long escalator ride to the top 10. She won't guarantee that she'll return. But if she does, she vows that it won't be for a mere guest appearance. "In the past, I did what I needed to get there," she says. "If I get back, I'll do what I need to, to stay there."
Short volleysIn her first match since losing to Venus Williams in the final of Key Biscayne, Capriati wasted only two match points before closing out Rossana de los Rios 6-4, 6-3. ... Amelie Mauresmo ran her winning streak to 15 matches, beating a pesky Marissa Irvin in three sets. ... Returning to action for the first time in nearly two months, Mary Pierce had little trouble with talented American Jennifer Hopkins. ... From the ATP (Association of Tennis Parity) Masters Series event in Monte Carlo: More qualifiers than top-10 players advanced to the Round of 16. ... Belgian journeyman Filip DeWulf has called it a career. His highlight: reaching the semifinals of the French Open in 1997. ... Best T-shirt slogan spotted at the Family Circle Cup: "What Part of Y'all Don't You Understand?"
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim covers tennis for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
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