Capriati ousts Williams in controversial match

By Howard Fendrich

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Unfairly, unbelievably, Serena Williams was robbed of a point by an umpire's mistake at the U.S. Open, just like her sister was at Wimbledon.

It happened in the opening game of the third set between Williams and Jennifer Capriati, who went on to win their Open quarterfinal 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday night.

The match was tight and testy, the way it almost always has been during the 17 matches between the two: contested calls, spiked rackets, a bit of gamesmanship and strokes pounded with power. A lot of power.

Capriati played superbly, without a doubt, but what always will be remembered is the miscue by chair umpire Mariana Alves of Portugal. She gave a point to Capriati at deuce to start the final set after Williams hit a backhand that clearly landed in -- and was ruled good by the line judge.

Williams wound up being broken in that game, and though she did break right back, she was broken again to 2-1 and never recovered. TV replays also appeared to show at least two other incorrect calls that went against Williams in the final game, when Capriati needed three match points to serve it out.

"I didn't even, like, look at it. It was close. I was just going to what the umpire said," Capriati told the crowd afterward, drawing some boos and murmurs.

"Believe me, I've had things go against me many times, plenty of times. I deserve to get a call once in a while."

In the semifinals, the eighth-seeded Capriati will face No. 6 Elena Dementieva, who outlasted No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in an earlier match marred by 24 double-faults, 82 unforced errors, 36 break points, and 14 service breaks.

After racing through the first set, Williams started playing more poorly, allowing Capriati to build up her confidence and narrow her head-to-head deficit to 10-7; 12 of those matches went three sets, including six of seven at majors.

Williams won eight straight until Capriati won two in a row on clay this year, including the French Open. But Williams' 6-1, 6-1 victory at Wimbledon was the most lopsided defeat Capriati ever had at a major.

So Tuesday's encounter was their third straight at a Slam, and much like Venus Williams' loss to Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round Monday, this one could have been for the title. For the first time since 1998, both Williams sisters will end a season without a single Grand Slam title between them.

Serena Williams has won six majors -- including two at the U.S. Open -- and Capriati has won three -- though she's never been to the final at Flushing Meadows.

To her credit, Capriati dug deep in the second and third sets, playing brilliant defense by scrambling along the baseline to extend points until Williams made a mistake. Williams finished with 57 unforced errors, 29 more than Capriati. Those allowed Capriati to win even though she managed only 12 clean winners.

Williams had 25 game-winning strokes officially, but that really should have been 26. Serving to start the third set, Williams smacked a backhand down the line, on the far side of the court from the chair umpire.

TV replays showed the ball landed in, by an inch or more, and the line judge called it correctly. But as Williams walked to the baseline to serve, dribbling the ball with her racket, Alves overruled that call and announced: "Advantage, Capriati."

A stunned Williams looked up and asked, "What happened?" Then, with hand on hip, she said to Alves: "That's my point. That ball was in. It's my advantage."

Williams swiveled to look up at her parents and sisters in the guest box, then turned and walked toward Alves, saying: "No, no, no, no, no. That was my point! What are you talking about? What's going on? Excuse me? That ball was so in. What the heck is this?"

Then Williams placed a ball on the court, slightly in off the line, and continued to plead her case while pointing: "The ball landed here. That ball was not out. Are you kidding me? I'm trying to tell you: The ball was not out. Do I need to speak another language?"

Alves responded: "Please calm down."

Capriati stood at the other end, shaking her head. On the next point, she sailed a backhand long on a 14-stroke rally -- which should have ended the game for Williams. Instead, it sent the score back to deuce, and Capriati capitalized with a tremendous volley winner to get another break point, converted with a forehand that tripped off the net cord and landed in.

It was eerily reminiscent of Wimbledon, where Venus Williams was upset in the second round after her opponent, Karolina Sprem, was mistakenly awarded an extra point in the final-set tiebreaker. Venus didn't argue at all, saying later she was confused.

Williams-Capriati, full of theatrics, was followed in Arthur Ashe Stadium by defending champion Andy Roddick against No. 18 Tommy Robredo in a fourth-round match. The winner faces No. 28 Joachim Johansson, who defeated Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Earlier, 2001 Open winner Lleyton Hewitt beat Karol Beck 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 for his 14th consecutive win, and Tommy Haas beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (6), 6-1, 7-5, erasing three set points in the tiebreaker.

"I'm playing pretty solid tennis, day in, day out," said Hewitt, who hasn't dropped a set.

Serena Williams hadn't, either, until facing a determined Capriati, who showed far more grit Tuesday than she did in her epic semifinal loss to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne last year at the Open.

"You get second chance after chance after chance," Capriati said. "I don't care what the tennis looks like, as long as it's gutsy."