Capriati phones excited brother after win

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Minutes after beating Martina Hingis for her second consecutive Australian Open title, Jennifer Capriati called her brother Steven, who watched the match on television in Arizona.

``I couldn't understand him, he was screaming so much,'' said Capriati, who sat in her courtside chair talking after the match into her mobile phone as officials prepared for the trophy presentation.

She said he was with his friends and, ``he just said that I have more of something than he does.''

Capriati's parents Stefano and Denise were in the stands in Melbourne to watch their daughter collect a third Grand Slam title.

Capriati ran to the side of the court where they were sitting, touched hands with them and blew kisses before returning to her chair and getting on the phone. She performed the same ritual with her father after winning the title last year, though her mother was not in Melbourne.

She also took a few seconds during her presentation speech to pay tribute to a 25-year-old Australian cancer patient.

Capriati, who also thanked her family, told the center court crowd that she had struggled in the heat.

But ``it's no comparison to a lot of friends I have who are struggling right now, especially one in particular,'' she said. ``I'd like to say: Darren thanks for coming and I love you.''

The person was Darren Bartholomeusz. Capriati met him three years ago at afunction for cancer patients, and they have been friends since.

BEER HUMOR

Both players in the women's final guzzled fluids on the hottest day of the tournament. The temperature was 95 degree, and it was a lot hotter on court for Capriati and Hingis.

After the 2-hour, 10-minute match, both players drew laughs from the center court crowd by referring to Heineken, the beermaker that is one of the sponsors at the Australian Open.

Hingis, who lost four match points, said Capriati had been ``too good'' but joked that ``maybe if we had Heineken beer in the cooler, that would help me to make the final point.''

Accepting the winner's trophy, Capriati joked: ``I really didn't know if I was going to make it today. I actually was drinking Heineken, you didn'tknow.''

TIME OFF

Martina Hingis will rest for a few days, play a tournament in Tokyo, and then take three weeks off. After that, it's back to work.

After her loss to Capriati, she said she hasn't decided whether to take her break in the United States, where she has a home, or her native Switzerland.

``I wish things were different,'' she said. But ``there's next week, next tournament, the next Grand Slam. Not even Grand Slams, but the next big tournaments in the States as well, like Indian Wells, Key Biscayne.''