To think she came that close to being a first round victim less than two weeks before the most memorable day of her life makes her story even more profound. On the first day of play on Rod Laver Arena, Jennifer overcame her scratchy form and an inspired opponent in Henrieta Nagyova to beat her 7-5 in the third after serving to stay in the match at 4-6 6-2 4-5. It proved to be the turning point in Capriati's tournament as she dismantled her opponents with such efficient ease thereafter. She defeated Miriam Oremans 6-0 6-2, Virginia Ruano-Pascual 6-0 6-2, Marta Marrero 7-5 6-1 in successive matches to reach the quarter finals for a second consecutive year at the Australian Open.
The stumbling block was supposed to be in the quarter finals against long-time rival and friend Monica Seles, the four-time champion of the Australian Open who owned Capriati in Grand Slam tournaments. Many remark of the epic match they played at the US Open in 1991 when Capriati led 3-6 6-3 5-3 with opportunities to serve out a victory. It did not eventuate and what occurred from that point was a spiralling down effect, sending Jennifer into an abyss as her tennis dropped and she involved herself in various illegal activities. A mark of revenge, perhaps? If that match in 1991 caused 7 years of heartache in Jennifer's life, their rematch in 2001 made up for some of the pain as she fought her way to the most impressive scalp since her 'comeback' in 1999. Jennifer came out of the blocks early but lost her way as Monica managed to eke out the first set 7-5. Seles appeared to be on her way to victory as she pounded out a 4-2 lead in the second set, however her game collapsed as Jennifer's level rose (and her fitness remained intact) and Capriati reeled off 9 of the next 10 games to take a 5-7 6-4 5-1 lead. The final result was Capriati 5-7 6-4 6-3.
