Venus beats Capriati for 3rd Ericsson crown

Venus beats Capriati for 3rd Ericsson crown

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters): Venus Williams saved eight match
points to capture her first title of the year with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-
6 victory over Jennifer Capriati on Saturday at the Ericsson
Open.

"I guess there is a first for everything," said Williams, who
had never saved that many match points before.

"She missed a few shots... I was able to stay in there. I just
kept getting back in it some way or another."

Williams, who has won 18 straight matches here to take the
title in 1998, 1999 and 2001, sat out last year's tournament
nursing tendinitis in both wrists.

While the fans embraced Williams at the end of the match by
applauding her win, the capacity crowd had earlier made it clear
that the Ericsson Open was Capriati country on Saturday
afternoon.

The match took place in exhaustively humid conditions and
although it was a far from stellar tennis performance in the
classic style of the game, it was impressive how both players
worked to stay in the match.

"I just think the heat was a major factor today because it was
so hot that I think it took a lot out of both of us," said
Williams, who withdrew from the Indian Wells semifinal against
her sister Serena two weeks ago with knee tendinitis.

"If it had been a cooler day it probably would have been much
easier to go out there and run, run, run.

"I think most of all it was the heat, but we both pushed each
other to the limit."

It was not an easy day for Williams who also blew three match
points from 6-1 in the tiebreak before finally tasting victory.

Finally, on Williams's fourth match point at 6-4 in the
tiebreak a fatigued Capriati netted a forehand to surrender the
two hour, 24-minute ordeal.

Capriati, enjoying a brilliant year so far in which she has
won her first grand slam title at the Australian Open, could not
hide her disappointment afterwards.

"Just on those match points, it didn't go my way," she said.

"It was just really close... I don't know what happened, it
was just so close and on those points I didn't have the luck."

The final was punctuated by a total of 124 unforced errors --
71 for Williams and 53 for Capriati.

A swirling wind found both women struggling on serve and
together they hit 27 double faults; 16 for Capriati and 11 for
Williams.

Both players struggled to hold serve and there were 18 service
breaks from the 36 break points of the day.

Title bid

In the men's side, Andre Agassi will be playing for his third
title of the year in the final on Sunday after beating Patrick
Rafter 6-0, 6-7, 6-2 in Saturday's semifinals.

It was Agassi's ninth win in 13 matches against the eighth-
seeded Australian.

Third-seeded Agassi won a five-set semifinal battle against
Rafter en route to the Australian Open title in January -- a
match far more intriguing than their latest encounter.

The American arrived at the Ericsson Open fresh from lifting
the Indian Wells crown and will now try to become the first man
to win the tournament four times.

Agassi's opponent in the final will be compatriot Jan-Michael
Gambill, who won his second career title earlier this month at
Delray Beach.

Gambill, who trails Agassi 5-2 in career meetings, defeated
Australian Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-4 in Friday's semifinal.