Capriati lets her attention wander

Jennifer Capriati was more successful in rebuffing questions about her relationship with the well-known actor who had been supporting her during the Nasdaq-100 Open here than she was in quashing the challenge of Anastasia Myskina yesterday.

The world no. 1 again showed her ability to wriggle from a tight corner but she was forced to break serve at 4-5 in the second set to survive and was made to endure a heavy bombardment before struggling into the last 16 with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over a young Muscovite few had heard of.

By contrast most of America recognised Matthew Perry, star of Friends. When the nature of his empathy with Capriati came up after the match she was not prepared to tolerate her second back-to-the-wall struggle of the day.

She was, she admitted, "hanging out a little" with him, and said this was the first time he had come to support her, but then Capriati announced with the kind of stare Billie Jean King would have been proud of, that a third question was going to end this subject. It duly ended everything. Yet somehow Capriati was never able to summon a presence like that on court.

"I decided that to beat me she had to keep playing the way she was," Capriati said, a passive and risky policy. For a long time Myskina hit flatter and harder and made Capriati's serve look mediocre. In the end the 20-year-old Russian's error ratio increased just enough to betray doubts as to whether she was yet good enough for the win. But soon she could be.

Capriati's torpor hinted that Venus Williams, whose ascent to the pinnacle lasted a mere three weeks, could before long depose her again - commitment and fitness permitting. The Wimbledon and US Open champion has promised to play a full schedule of 18 events this year - just about the best news the WTA tour could have had - and her vulnerable tendons have so far shown no sign of weakness.

Instead it was a back injury to Williams' opponent, Mariana Diaz-Oliva, which brought their third-round encounter to a finish early in the second set. The Argentinian wandered off for several minutes with her trainer, then returned and casually shook hands. Then everyone wandered off. It was slightly surreal but Williams looked pleased.

Another to escape trouble was Marat Safin, though much of it was of his own making. The sixth-seed became frustrated by the slowish court, humid atmosphere and slightly fluffy balls while playing Luis Horna, a tenacious 21-year-old Peruvian.

Safin got a code violation warning for breaking a racket and was docked a penalty point for slamming a ball to the other end of the court before pulling himself together to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

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