The Hindu : U.S. in precarious position

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

U.S. in precarious position

CHARLOTTE (NORTH CAROLINA) APRIL 28. A rift between Jennifer Capriati and captain Billie Jean King, coupled with Monica Seles' upset loss to Austria's Barbara Schwartz, has the United States on the verge of elimination in the Fed Cup.

Capriati, the No. 2 player in the world, was dismissed from the team late on Friday for breaking King's strict rules about practices. It meant the United States had to forfeit a singles match on Saturday, starting the best-of-five event down 0-1. Then Seles lost her match to Schwartz, ranked 75th in the world, 6-7 (7-9), 2-6.

The United States, which owns a record 17 Fed Cup titles, is one match away from failing to advance to the second round. The Americans last lost in the first round of Fed Cup competition in 1997, falling to the Netherlands.

``It's definitely a tough hole we're in, so we just have to go out and play one match at a time,'' Seles said. ``We'll just have to go for it.''

The Capriati-King rift started early in the week but only became public on Friday when King kicked the player off the team.

Under King's rules, all practice sessions are closed to the players' individual coaches and agents, and players are prohibited from practicing on their own time.

Other results:

At Brussels (Belgium): Belgium leads Australia 2-0 (Kim Clijsters bt Alicia Molik 6-0, 6-2; Justine Henin bt Nicole Pratt 6-4, 4-6, 6-0).

At Bratislava (Slovakia): Slovakia leads Switzerland 2-0 (Daniela Hantuchova bt Myriam Casanova 6-4, 7-5; Janette Husarova bt Patty Schnyder 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 7-5).

At Milan (Italy): Italy leads Sweden 2-0 (Antonella Serra Zanetti bt Asa Carlsson-Svensson 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, 10-8; Adriana Serra Zanetti bt Sofia Arvidsson 6-1, 6-1).

At Buenos Aires (Argentina): France tied with Argentina 1-1 (Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Mariana Diaz-Oliva 7-5, 6-2; Paola Suarez (Arg) bt Sandrine Testud 7-5, 6-4).

At Almeria (Spain): Spain tied with Hungary 1-1 (Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Esp) bt Rita Kuti Kis 6-4, 6-2; Zsofia Gubacsi (Hun) bt Angeles Montolio 6-3, 3-6, 6-2).

At Dresden (Germany): Germany tied with Russia 1-1 (Barbara Rittner (Ger) bt Anastasia Myskina 7-5, 3-6, 7-5; Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Martina Mueller 6-4, 6-2).

At Bol (Croatia): Croatia tied with Czech Republic 1-1 (Ivona Benesova (Cze) bt Iva Majoli 6-4, 6-1; Jelena Kostanic (Cro) bt Sandra Kleinova 7-6 (7-2), 6-4).

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