Williams Looking To Spoil Capriatis Bid For Three Straight Grand Slam Titles

After a meteoric rise followed by a spectacular downfall precipitated by drugs and personal demons, Capriati has made a near miraculous comeback. However, experts think the road ahead may be the toughest of all as she faces the competition of ambitious, slightly older versions of herself 10 years ago as well as the games premier players. Experts say she will need all of her newfound confidence, together with her physical fitness and hard won experience, to reach the summit.
Venus Williams, the defending U.S. Open womens singles champion and ranked No. 2, enters the 2001 Open after successfully defending her Wimbledon singles title earlier this month. She won her fifth consecutive title by beating Lindsay Davenport in the 2000 U.S. Open and her sixth straight event when she took the 2000 Olympics gold medal in Sydney, Australia. Her 35-match winning streak came to an end when Davenport defeated her in the final at Linz, Austria. Williams made her U.S. Open debut in 1997 and became the first unseeded finalist at the event since 1958.
Venus Williams joins five other U.S. Open womens singles champions in this years tournament. They are: Hingis, the 1997 champion and winner of grand slams in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open four years ago; Davenport, No. 4, winner of her first grand slam in the 1998 Open; Serena Williams, No. 8, the 1999 Open champion; Monica Seles, No. 10, winner of the 1991 and 1992 Open; and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, No. 19 and the 1994 Open champion.
Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina, the 2000 U.S. Open juniors singles and doubles champion, was the 104th and last player accepted directly into the womans field of 128. Sixteen more players will gain entry through the qualifying rounds to be held on Aug. 21-25. The remaining eight spots are wild-card entries awarded by the U.S.T.A.
Players from 34 countries received direct entry into this years U.S. Open womens singles championship. The U.S. led all nations with 16 players receiving direct entry. Spain, with 12 players, was next and Russia, with eight, was third.
Other American women who received direct entry were Meghann Shaughnessy, No. 15, of Scottsdale, Ariz; Amy Frazier, No. 21, of Rochester Hills, Mich.; Chandra Rubin, No 26, of Layfayette, La.; Lisa Raymond, No. 31, of Wayne,Pa.; Meilen Tu, No. 42, of Porter Ranch, Calif.; Kristina Brandi, No. 51, of Tampa, Fla.; Lilia Osterloh, No. 56, of Canal Winchester, Ohio; Jennifer Hopkins, No. 68, of Leawood, Kan.; Jill Craybas, No. 81, of East Greenwich, R.I.; Sandra Cacic, No. 83, of Bradenton, Fla., and Marissa Irvin, No. 93, of Santa Monica, Calif.
The July 16 WTA Tour rankings were used to determine entries into the U.S. Open.