Jennifer Capriati takes centre stage at Wimbledon today aiming to lead the contingent of American top seeds into the next round of British Grand Slam. American women have won the last eight Grand Slam titles and tennis journalists and pundits alike are plumping for a Stateside winner of the competition this year.
Reigning champion Venus Williams yesterday joined younger sister Serena in the second round after ending the hopes of British teenager Jane O'Donoghue while Monica Seles, the world number four white-washed Spaniard Eva Bess 6-0 6-0. Serena Williams is expected to progress to the next stage of the competition after today's first-ever clash with Italy's Francesca Schiavone on court one.
26-year old Capriati is the most likely American to break the current stranglehold of the Williams sisters as she takes on another little-known Spaniard, Marta Marrero on centre court. Speaking of the upcoming players in the championship, Capriati said: "There are a lot of players out there with a chance, you never know what's going to happen, especially on this surface. I think there's a lot of other good players that have a chance and that are going to be more determined. They don't want to see the Williams sisters or me dominating the sport."
Capriati particularly cites Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin (last year's beaten finalist) as potential champions along with Seles, who took just over a half an hour to see off her first-round opponent. Seles, 28 and yet to add Wimbledon to her impressive tally of nine Grand Slam titles, is happy for Capriati and the Williams sisters to grab the limelight as she continues to make significant progress in her comeback from injury.
Seles, who holds American citizenship, believes American women are set to dominate the tennis scene for the foreseeable future. She remarked: "I think it's great to see, everybody keeps talking about American tennis. There is my generation, you have Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer in the middle and then you have the Williams and a few of the young ones who will definitely carry the American flag for a long time."
Filed by Sinéad Gleeson
