Jennifer Capriati restored a semblance of order at Wimbledon this evening and was happy to get back to the locker room in just 50 minutes following her 6-2 6-1 second round victory over Spain's Marta Marrero. With Centre Court still buzzing following the sensational four-set demise of men's second seed Marat Safin only moments earlier, Capriati was in no mood to hang around and give the crowd yet another spectacle.
Capriati barely broke sweat as she stormed to a 3-0 lead against a player who had failed to advance beyond the second round in any of her previous 14 tournaments this season. With Capriati - the only player among the top six seeds not to have won a title over the last three months - moving around the sun-baked court with an air of authority, the hapless Marrero was left chasing the American's brutal shots in vain.
The 26-year-old briefly lost focus to lose her serve at 5-1 up but promptly made amends in the next game to secure the set with a sizzling forehand winner after 32 minutes. Having outplayed her 72nd ranked opponent in every department, Capriati reeled off five straight games from 1-1 in the second set to clinch the match.
However, much to the crowd's amusement, there was a moment of confusion at 40-30 in the final game. Believing she had won the match with a service winner, Capriati started to walk to the net, only to be told by the umpire that she would have to serve again to secure the point. A bemused Capriati, who beat Marrero on the way to the Melbourne Park title 18 months ago, obliged and swiftly ended Marrero's misery with an overhead smash.
The Australian Open champion will meet 26th-seeded Czech Daja Bedanova for a place in the fourth round.
Filed by Shane Murray
