Capriati is Expelled By King

Jennifer Capriati, the reigning Australian and French Open champion, appears unlikely to play for her country again after a week-long battle of wills between her and Billie Jean King ended with the six-times Wimbledon singles champion throwing the current world No2 out of the United States Fed Cup team.

King, the Fed Cup captain, took drastic action after Capriati refused to cancel a private practice session with her father and coach, Stefano, on Friday. Lisa Raymond, a member of the team, said that Capriati and her father had been a disruptive influence throughout the preparations in Charlotte, North Carolina.

King's decision saw the Americans forfeit the opening match in their first-round World Group tie against Austria and fall further behind when Monica Seles, angry and upset by Capriati's behaviour, surprisingly lost 7-6, 6-2 against Barbara Schwartz.

"Jennifer should have approached the rest of the team if she wanted some help but she didn't," said Seles. "It was very unfair."

King said it was the toughest decision she had ever made, but she had been unable to resolve the problem of "Jennifer wanting to assert her independence and Stefano trying to assert his will". She added: "I stated the rules and they weren't adhered to. It was a lot more than once and wasn't fair to the team."

The rest of the players backed King. "I had my coach here and understood the rules," said Seles. "They were explained to me and I obliged. We're all here as a team and we need to focus on our tennis, not the distractions from off the court. It was just becoming too much."

The United States have won the trophy, the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup, 17 times since its inception as the Federation Cup in 1963, but handed Belgium their title last year when they refused to fly to Europe for the final in the wake of September 11.

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