From a nose-ringed, shoplifting teen-age pothead to winner of the elusive Grand Slam?
Can Jennifer Capriati complete that unlikeliest of journeys?
Before tennis commentator John McEnroe left for England two weeks ago, he told The Post, “It would be the greatest turn-around in the history of sports if she wins the Grand Slam. I personally hope she wins Wimbledon because it would be so exciting for the U.S. Open.”
The rise, fall and rise of Capriati is indeed one of the stunning reversals in sports. After surviving Serena Williams in the Wimbledon quarterfinals yesterday, the 25-year-old Floridian stands two Wimbledon victories and a U.S. Open title from becoming the first woman to win the Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
There is no more softness to Jenny. She has become a hardbody – a taut tennis machine on the verge of history.
She has taken up tae-bo, runs long distances and spends more hours on the practice court, hitting with top men’s players on the tour and her coach Harold Solomon. The maturation also has included the dating of men’s tour player Xavier Malisse of Belgium.
“She’s very fit now,” said the former Bulgaria star Maggie Maleeva told the Sunday Times in London. “She is so coordinated and has so much talent there is no way she won’t do well now she’s in shape.”
What a trip it’s been.
She broke into pro tennis at the too-young age of 13. Her father, Stefano, force-fed her to the public. She did too many promotions and commercials and exhibition tournaments. Capriati became the youngest player ever to make it to the French Open semifinals at age 14 in 1990, and one month later became the youngest to ever win a match at Wimbledon.
But the joyride lost its wheels at the end of 1993. She went from No. 9 in the world that year to having no ranking at all until 1996. During her layoff, she was arrested for shoplifting cheap jewelry and cited for smoking pot in a seedy hotel room with a bunch of derelict friends.
She began her comeback in 1996, but it was a very slow progression. Her weight gain was noticeable in her legs. The time away from the tour had messed up her match toughness. In 1998, she fell out of the Top 100.
Even when she appeared on the verge of a breakthrough during the U.S. Open in 1999, she tainted it by breaking down in the postmatch news conference after losing to Monica Seles in the Round of 16 – reading to the assembled media a letter begging them to stop asking questions about her sordid past.
Thoughts of her regaining championship status seemed remote. Then she won the Australian. Now she keeps taking her game to the next level.
