Hung out to dry

Belgian teen Henin rallies after rain to upset Capriati

Justine Henin reached her first final of the year. AP

BERLIN (AP) -- Serena Williams reached her first clay-court final, and Jennifer Capriati fell two victories short of regaining the world's No. 1 ranking by losing to Justine Henin on Saturday in the German Open.

Henin turned the match around after a two-hour rain break, beating Capriati 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the first semifinal.

Williams reached the final against Henin with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of unseeded Anna Smashova at the next-to-last tuneup for the French Open.

Capriati led 7-5, 2-2 against Henin, the world's eighth-ranked player, when a rainstorm delayed the match.

After the long delay, Capriati won only one of 11 games, serving two costly double faults that cost her the final set.

"It seemed like a different match afterward, almost a different day. Everything slowed down. That favored her," Capriati said of the rain break.

Williams, who ran her record to 18-1 with two titles this year, overpowered Smashova, drawing cheers for her spectacular shots and sweeping the match in just 71 minutes.

Williams didn't place any special significance on winning an event on clay, a slow surface the American used to struggle on.

"I just think of it as another tournament that I'd like to do well at," Williams said. "I'm satisfied with the way I'm moving on clay."

Williams looked far more comfortable than in the past adjusting to clay, which involves a gliding motion.

"It's like riding a bike. You don't forget to slide, and I think I've made the adjustment mentally, that you have to hit a thousand balls back," she said.

Smashova, the world's 35th-ranked player, was the first Israeli ever to reach the semis of a top-level tournament.

Henin ended her match in just under 2 hours when Capriati's forehand sailed long.

"For sure, the rain delay helped me after I lost the first set," Henin said. "The balls were heavier -- which helped me, but that wasn't the reason for the result."

Capriati didn't regard the loss as a setback as she prepares to defend her French Open title starting in two weeks.

"I lost in the first round at Rome just before the French (last year), and it didn't really matter," Capriati said.

Winning the German Open would have allowed her to pass Venus Williams at the top of the rankings.

Serena Williams said she would call her older sister after the match.

"I'll tell her I won and you're still No. 1," she said.

Henin, who lost the Wimbledon final last year to Venus Williams, forced Capriati to save three set points before the American finally won the first set.

But while Capriati managed to raise the level of her game before the break, she had no answers as Henin whipped winners all over the court after the storm hit.

"She played well. If she could play like that all the time, Henin would be ranked higher," Capriati said.

The 19-year-old Belgian's path to the top has been blocked by Venus Williams.

Henin has lost three finals this year to the top-ranked American, twice forcing three sets. She led Williams 6-2, 4-0 at Amelia Island before losing.

"I have to think positive. After all, I've been in three finals and two of the matches were very close," Henin said. "Maybe tomorrow is my day."

 

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