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 Second-round loss leaves Capriati 'heartbroken'
Posted: Thursday June 25, 1998 07:45 PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Jennifer Capriati's return to Wimbledon after a five-year absence ended after one victory. Capriati, who played Wimbledon as a 15-year-old sensation in 1991, lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to 34-year-old Lori McNeil in Thursday's second round. Capriati was devastated by the defeat, fleeing Wimbledon for her nearby rented house. When she returned to face the media 2 1/2 hours later, she was still red-eyed. "It's very disappointing and I'm heartbroken," Capriati said, "especially because I think I had the match. I should have won. "But it's so tough going off and on the court because of the rain, and she hit some good serves. I think anybody would have had problems with those serves." Capriati said that if she had converted the game points she held at the start of the final set, the outcome could have been different. "I think that would have made a difference," Capriati said. "She just gained confidence as the match went on, and I had a few shaky shots because of the conditions. It got gusty out there and I gave her a few easy shots and her confidence just went higher." Despite her defeat, Capriati said she would return to the All England Club.
"Definitely," she said. "This is one of my favorite tournaments. Today it's not, but it's definitely special and the one people remember the most." McNeil, like Capriati, needed a wild card to compete at Wimbledon this year. It was 10 years ago that McNeil reached her highest ranking of No. 9. And it was four years ago that she upset Steffi Graf on Centre Court to become the only player in Grand Slam history to defeat the defending champion in the first round. McNeil took control against Capriati in the third set, holding off four game points in the first three games as she built a 4-0 lead. Coming to the net and challenging Capriati to pass her, she forced her opponent into errors. The first set had swung on the seventh game, when McNeil was broken with a forehand winner after serving four double-faults. In the second set, Capriati broke to lead 4-3 and held a point for 5-3 before McNeil rallied to win the last three games and take the match into a tiebreaker. "When we came back out after a rain break at 3-all [in the second set] she had a tough time when I was slicing my returns low," McNeil said. "She had a difficult time passing, and with the wind in a certain direction, she had a difficult time handling the shots. "She was still hitting out, but on grass I think the advantage is to the player that comes in on certain situations. If you constantly have to keep coming up with the great passing shot, it's difficult." McNeil is ranked 127th after missing most of the 1997 season with a stress fracture in a foot. After beginning the year ranked 305, McNeil is on the comeback trail. "I'm toward the end of my career," McNeil said, "but I still enjoy playing and I plan on playing the rest of the year. I can still play the game."
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