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It seems that the WTA are praying that Cap finish first, and she should. I think she deserve it, if Vee wanted the #1 ranking she should have played more. Since Venus always acknowledged Hingis as the #1 player, I'm sure the same hold true for Capriati!
Capriati Tired of Hearing Why Venus Should Be No. 1
Being Chased by Davenport for Top Status
By PATRICK VIGNAL <br />.c Reuters
MUNICH, Germany(Oct.29)-- Jennifer Capriati is tired of hearing that the best player in the world is Venus Williams.
The 25-year old, whose remarkable comeback has taken her all the way to No. 1, said she was irritated by remarks suggesting the powerful Williams would be in the top spot had she played more tournaments.
"It's all speculation," Capriati said as she was warming up for the last tournament of her fairy tale season, the WTA Championships starting Tuesday.
"If Venus should be No. 1, why isn't she? I don't have to defend myself."
While Capriati won the Australian and French Open titles, Williams also took two Grand Slams--Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open-- and often looked in a class of her own.
But she has struggled with injuries and recently upset the WTA Tour officials by saying she could not play in Munich because of a sore wrist, after repeatedly assuring them that she would come.
Capriati said she had needed time for everything to sink in after she knocked Martina Hingis off the top of the ranking earlier this month.
"It's all settling in pretty good," she said. "Now it's the end of the year and I can start looking back and enjoy what has happened."
Still mathematically under threat from Lindsay Davenport, who has won her last three tournaments to move into second place just 61 points behind her, Capriati is nevertheless ideally placed to end the year at No. 1.
"We still have to work it out but Lindsay can make it only if Jennifer loses very early here," said a WTA spokeswoman."
"My goal is not to finish No. 1, it's to end the year playing great tennis," Capriati said. "Lindsay might catch me but I believe that if I concentrate on my tennis and keep playing well, the ranking will take care of itself."
Eleven years have passed since Capriati made her debut at the year-end Championships as a bubly 14-year old.
She was among the sport's elite for the season's traditional finale from 1990 to 1992 but her career was then derailed when she lost interest in the sport and dabbled in drugs.
Not until last year did she return, losing on that occasion to Russian Anna Kournikova in the first round at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The event, which had been held in the U.S. since it started in 1972, will be staged this year in Munich's Olympic Hall.
"A change is good," said Capriati, who plays Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva in her first match here Tuesday.
"It's a new experience. It's a new start for the tournament at the end of a year that marked a new start for me."
09:30 10-29-01
Capriati Tired of Hearing Why Venus Should Be No. 1
Being Chased by Davenport for Top Status
By PATRICK VIGNAL <br />.c Reuters
MUNICH, Germany(Oct.29)-- Jennifer Capriati is tired of hearing that the best player in the world is Venus Williams.
The 25-year old, whose remarkable comeback has taken her all the way to No. 1, said she was irritated by remarks suggesting the powerful Williams would be in the top spot had she played more tournaments.
"It's all speculation," Capriati said as she was warming up for the last tournament of her fairy tale season, the WTA Championships starting Tuesday.
"If Venus should be No. 1, why isn't she? I don't have to defend myself."
While Capriati won the Australian and French Open titles, Williams also took two Grand Slams--Wimbeldon and the U.S. Open-- and often looked in a class of her own.
But she has struggled with injuries and recently upset the WTA Tour officials by saying she could not play in Munich because of a sore wrist, after repeatedly assuring them that she would come.
Capriati said she had needed time for everything to sink in after she knocked Martina Hingis off the top of the ranking earlier this month.
"It's all settling in pretty good," she said. "Now it's the end of the year and I can start looking back and enjoy what has happened."
Still mathematically under threat from Lindsay Davenport, who has won her last three tournaments to move into second place just 61 points behind her, Capriati is nevertheless ideally placed to end the year at No. 1.
"We still have to work it out but Lindsay can make it only if Jennifer loses very early here," said a WTA spokeswoman."
"My goal is not to finish No. 1, it's to end the year playing great tennis," Capriati said. "Lindsay might catch me but I believe that if I concentrate on my tennis and keep playing well, the ranking will take care of itself."
Eleven years have passed since Capriati made her debut at the year-end Championships as a bubly 14-year old.
She was among the sport's elite for the season's traditional finale from 1990 to 1992 but her career was then derailed when she lost interest in the sport and dabbled in drugs.
Not until last year did she return, losing on that occasion to Russian Anna Kournikova in the first round at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The event, which had been held in the U.S. since it started in 1972, will be staged this year in Munich's Olympic Hall.
"A change is good," said Capriati, who plays Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva in her first match here Tuesday.
"It's a new experience. It's a new start for the tournament at the end of a year that marked a new start for me."
09:30 10-29-01
